News / strikes
Ambulance workers in Bristol join national day of strikes
Ambulance workers and paramedics in Bristol went on strike on Wednesday, joining thousands across the UK.
Workers formed a picket line at the North Bristol Operations Centre in Filton, to take action over pay and conditions.
Speaking on the picket line outside Bristol Ambulance Station in Lawrence Hill, Joey, an ambulance striker, said he was looking for better conditions for the staff for a better service for the patients.
is needed now More than ever
“We are here for the patients,” Joey said.
South Western Ambulance Service (SWAS) is one of eight trusts in England which has declared a critical incident due to the strikes.
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Will Warrender, chief executive at SWAS, said: “Please help us to help those patients who need us most by only calling 999 if a patient has a life-threatening condition or illness.
At midday on Tuesday there were 473 patients waiting for ambulances across the South West, with 123 ambulances outside hospitals waiting to handover patients.
According to the GMB union, up to 1000 paramedics, emergency care assistants and other staff at SWAS NHS Trust are taking part in the strike.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said that category 1 incidents (the most serious) will continue to be responded to immediately.
Sky News reported that ambulance crews were still coming to and from the picket line in Filton to respond to call-outs, with Bristol24/7 taking the photo of the ambulance at the top of this page in Hotwells at 3.30pm on Wednesday.
The health secretary, Steve Barclay has urged the public to “use their common sense” during the strike.
The urging of caution comes as the Royal College of Emergency Medicine said A&E departments are expecting some patients to turn up to hospital in cars and taxis rather than ambulances.
Steve Barclay, who has said he will not move on the issue of pay, said the emergency ambulance system “will be under very severe pressure today”.
The health secretary received backlash on Wednesday afternoon after he accused trade unions of making a “conscious choice to inflict harm on patients” in an article for the Daily Telegraph.
Around 750 armed forces staff have been brought in nationally to help ambulance trusts.
Main photo: Martin Booth
Read next:
- BRI nurses continue strike as union issues ultimatum
- Uber drivers take to street in mass vehicle strike
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- Firework thrown at ambulance with crew inside
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