York paramedics speak out about today's ambulance strike

Ambulance workers standing in a picket line outside York Ambulance Station said taking industrial action was ‘against their nature’.

“We don’t want to go on strike. We just feel we have been backed into a corner over the last 12 years,” said Ed Wood, a paramedic and UNISON rep.

“We’re losing staff monthly, and that’s one of the biggest problems as to why there are such long queues at the hospital. We just feel that the government hasn’t listened.”

Mr Wood said every paramedic standing on the picket line was ready to respond if a ‘category one’ 999 call – in which someone’s life was at risk – came in.

But they were on strike because they were worried about the future of the NHS, he said.

Paramedic Ed Wood on the picket line today (Image: Stephen Lewis)

“When we’re sitting on corridors for ten hours watching patients deteriorate, that’s a horrendous thing to see, and that’s why we’re here today.”

The strike was about more than just pay, he stressed. “The pay is a part of it, but more we don’t want to lose the NHS.

“Without the pay, people are leaving, they are going to the private sector, which is causing more and more holes in the system, which means patients are not being seen, and the backlog is just getting bigger and bigger.

“We feel that after the last 12 years, what’s happening with the NHS, we just have to stand up and try to do something.”

Rob Powell, who has been a paramedic for 22 years, added: “It has never been like this. It has never been the queues… we’re not out there doing our jobs because we are sitting in corridors for shifts at a time, 12 hours at a time.”

Paramedic Rob Powell on the picket line today (Image: Stephen Lewis)

Referring to the long delays in ambulance crews being able to respond to 999 calls because they were stuck in queues at A&E he added: “When we get to these poor patients, sometimes they have been on the floor for hours at a time.”

Sometimes, the reason for a call might have been something relatively simple that could be fairly quickly resolved, he said. “But by the time we get there, there are other problems which have developed, and they need to be admitted to hospital for something that could have been avoided.

“If you could come in there (York Hospital) you would see 15 ambulances at a time waiting in there with patients, and it’s just getting worse and worse.”

Ambulance workers insist that all they want is for the government to sit down and negotiate a fair pay offer.

“We want a fair wage that will keep staff, attract the right people, and it will keep mature members of staff with years of experience here,” Mr Wood said. “If we lose them, it’s a huge thing.

“It’s not just the ambulance service, it’s across the NHS. Young paramedics are joining now, and they see the lure of the private sector where the money is better, and we are losing staff.

“I think there’s 130,000 vacancies across the NHS. Nothing can sustain that at that level.”

STRIKES 'HUGELY DISAPPOINTING' SAYS HEALTH SECRETARY

Health Secretary Steve Barclay (Image: Victoria Jones/ PA)

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said it was ‘hugely disappointing’ that some ambulance workers were continuing to take industrial action.

but in a statement released yesterday, he said he whad had ' constructive talks' with unions about the coming year’s pay process for 2023/24, and was 'keen to continue talking about what is affordable and fair'.

York outer Conservative MP Julian Sturdy said he had 'great sympathy' with ambulance teams in York and across the country who 'quite literally make the difference between life and death when responding to 999 calls'.

He added: "I welcome today's update from the Health Secretary that talks with the unions are constructive and sincerely hope an agreement can be found soon."

But he went on: "While the NHS is undoubtedly under great pressure, as it is every winter and even greater in recent years due to the hangover from the pandemic, it is incorrect to say the NHS is underfunded.

"Across the last decade, the NHS has seen real terms funding increases every single year and will account for 40 per cent of day-to-day Government spending by 2025.

"Even the Opposition has admitted that the solution isn't simply spending more money and that structural changes are needed to make the NHS fit for purpose with a larger as well as older population."

York Central’s Labour MP Rachael Maskell said: “No paramedic wants to take strike action, but if Government fail to address the low morale, things will get significantly worse.

“This crisis is wholly of the Government’s making and will not be resolved until they address the very real challenges in the NHS. They must stop running away and get round the table and talk.”

Nick Smith, director of operations at the Yorkshire Ambulance service, stressed that an agreement had been struck with striking paramedics in Yorkshire that they would response to very serious and life-threatening calls.

“But this will only be where there is an immediate risk to life,” he said.

“Less serious calls may not receive a response or a significantly delayed response for the duration of the strike action.”