The public of the West Midlands are being given an assurance that, on Wednesday (11th January), the ambulance service will continue to respond to incidents where this is a threat to life on Wednesday, despite strike action by one of its unions.
The Trust respects the right of trade union members to take such action or demonstrate their support of strike action.
It should be noted that the action is in response to a national pay dispute with the government.
Members of the GMB have indicated that they will undertake strike action from 00:01 – 23:59 on Wednesday 11th January.
Emergency Services Operations Delivery Director, Nathan Hudson, said: “We have had productive discussions with our staffside colleagues to agree that ambulances will respond to:
The most urgent calls such as cardiac arrests and where a crew request immediate back up at the scene of a case
Other life-threatening cases such as heart attacks, strokes, difficulty in breathing and maternity cases
“In addition, staff in our non-emergency patient transport service will continue to convey vulnerable groups such as patients undertaking renal dialysis, cancer treatments, palliative care, emergency scans within the strike period timeframe.
“Only call 999 if critically unwell or there is risk to life. Ambulances will be dispatched where clinically appropriate.
“If you need medical help or advice, go to NHS 111 online (www.111.nhs.uk), your local GP or pharmacy.”
Rachel Harrison, GMB National Secretary, said:
“Today’s talks fell well short of anything substantial that could stop this week’s strikes.
“There was some engagement on pay – but not a concrete offer that could help resolve this dispute and make significant progress on the recruitment and retention crisis.
“The public expects the Government to treat these talks seriously – it’s time they got on with it.”
