Seriously ill patients waiting for ambulances, queues outside hospitals, and now strikes - paramedics tell us why they are walking out
Seriously ill patients are waiting 'hours' for ambulances as emergency 999 calls stack up, meanwhile staff wait entire shifts stuck outside hospitals as there are no beds available inside for people needing to be dropped off. The disruption will likely be made worse by impending industrial action as paramedics, call handlers, emergency care assistants and other ambulance workers have voted in their masses to strikes.
'Hundreds of 999 callers left waiting hours', claims one paramedic Manchester residents are left waiting an average of 43 minutes for category two 999 calls, which cover emergencies like heart attacks and strokes, in 2021/22 according to new data. The NHS target is 18 minutes. “Around 100 to 200 jobs stacking is normal now and it never was - now it is. 60 to 70 jobs outstanding is a really good day.”
Why strike now? Ambulance workers across the North West are set to go on strike before Christmas in a row over pay and "unsafe" staffing levels. More than 10,000 staff members, including paramedics, emergency care assistants, call handlers and other staff are set to walk out in England and Wales - raising the threat of widespread industrial action in the NHS before Christmas.
The responsibility outstrips their pay which shows no signs of rising, and yet more experienced paramedics decide to leave. Meanwhile, those new paramedics, who start on an average salary of £25,654, are dealing with their own lack of pay progression which means even the youngsters also do not stay around long-term.
A strike could offer the opportunity resolve the hanging question of patient safety in the long-term by achieving better pay and, in turn, attracting and retaining staff. Although paramedics will face criticism for striking as the NHS heads into a difficult winter, patient safety will only continue to decline if nothing is done, they tell the M.E.N.
It is unlikely a strike day will see paramedics completely absent. The striking unions are understood to be working to minimise the impact any industrial action will have on patients - the conflict over pay, say staff members, is not with the ambulance trusts but with the government.Another possibility could be that paramedics only respond to calls defined as ‘category one’: life-threatening illnesses and injuries where patients are typically not breathing or in cardiac arrest.
"While patients suffering from life-threatening conditions will receive the next available ambulance, some patients are waiting longer than we would like. We continue to recruit more call handlers and clinicians into our emergency and non-emergency call centres and more front-line ambulance crews. We also continue working with NHS partners to ease handover delays.
“But what their main focus is at the moment is making sure that they can really run with as safe a service as possible and that’s what they’ve been preparing for.
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