Wigan hospital chief's message to patients as ambulance workers prepare for strike

Ambulance workers across the country – including those employed by North West Ambulance Service – will be taking industrial action on Wednesday in a dispute over pay.

All category one calls (the most life-threatening such as cardiac arrest) will still be responded to, while some ambulance trusts have agreed exemptions with unions for specific incidents within category two (serious conditions, such as stroke or chest pain).

But there are still questions about what impact the strike will have on patients.

Dr Sanjay Arya, medical director and consultant cardiologist at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “I am concerned about the ambulance strikes.

"My request to our people would be to use ambulances appropriately. I hope it will not impact a lot on patients, but I am assured that ambulance services will respond to appropriate groups of patients.”

He said patients would continue to receive the care they need when they arrive at hospital.

Nurses across the country are due to strike on Tuesday and while staff in Wigan voted in favour of this, they will not take part in the walk-out this time.

Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive of NHS Providers, urged the Government and unions to come to an agreement on pay.

She told BBC Breakfast NHS trust leaders “genuinely understand why staff are choosing to strike, so I think they would urge the Government and the unions to get round the table and discuss pay”.

She added: “Trust leaders across both hospitals and ambulance services will be doing everything that they can to put in place services that keep patients and the public as safe as possible.

“So it’s really important that people do remember that. And 999 calls that affect life and limb, those real emergencies will be answered.”

Asked if people should make their own way to hospital, Ms Cordery said: “If someone has a life and limb emergency, they should call 999.

“And, if it’s not that kind of emergency, they will be told to seek different advice…

“If they think they’ve got the kind of emergency where they would usually call 111, then they should do that, or they should consult a GP or pharmacist…

“There may well be alternative advice available to them that wouldn’t ordinarily be the case. So perhaps they will be advised to get themselves to hospital, but they should wait to seek that medical advice.”

Asked whether ambulances would be available on Wednesday to an elderly person who fell and broke their hip, Health Secretary Steve Barclay said “people should continue to call 999 where they need an ambulance”.

He said there would be an impact on patients from strike action, adding: “And that’s why I’m calling on the trade unions to make good on their statements that they will protect those with life-threatening conditions and emergency responses, ensure we have the cover on Wednesday to respond to those calls.”