The majority of ambulance personnel in England and Wales will go on strike on December 21 over a salary dispute.
The coordinated walkout by the three largest ambulance unions, Unison, GMB, and Unite, will only affect calls that are not life-threatening.
However, this could result in individuals who have tripped and fallen not receiving assistance.
Members of the Royal College of Nursing are also preparing to strike on December 15 and 20 in portions of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Unison, which has twice as many members as the other two unions combined, has only authorized a strike for five of England’s ten regional services. Consequently, the impact of the ambulance strike will be uneven.
GMB has also stated that its members will go on strike on December 28.
The walkouts will involve paramedics, control room personnel, and support staff, with the military standing ready to assist.
The start schedules and durations of the strikes will vary by union and service, but they will all last between 12 and 24 hours.
The only service that will not be disrupted is the East of England service.
Government is to fault for the conflict – union
The actual extent of the coverage that striking workers will give has yet to be determined; local ambulance managers and unions will engage in extensive negotiations before the walkout.
According to union regulations, life-saving care must be provided, thus the two highest category calls – including heart attacks, strokes, and significant trauma – will still be answered.
The Association of Ambulance Chief Executives warned last month that people were dying due to “crippling delays” ambulance workers encountered upon arriving at A&E.
Sara Gorton, head of health at Unison, stated: “If the NHS experiences a strike before Christmas, the government would have only itself to blame.
“The personnel of the ambulance and their health colleagues do not wish to inconvenience anyone. However, ministers are unwilling to do the one thing that may prevent disruptions: begin meaningful salary discussions.
“Insufficient pay discourages health care employees from leaving the NHS. As more and more employees resign, there is fewer personnel available to care for patients. The public is aware of this reason for extended waits.”
All the unions have requested wage increases that exceed inflation.
However, the English and Welsh governments have offered NHS employees an average raise of 4.75 percent, with a guaranteed minimum of £1,400.
England’s Health Secretary, Steve Barclay, stated that paying the requested amount was “unaffordable” and noted that the award complied with the recommendations of the independent NHS Pay Review Body.
Approximately half of the ambulance workers are union members.
The last strike action by ambulance personnel was in 2014.
