As a result of yesterday’s ambulance strikes, it is feared that patients will swarm emergency rooms (A&E) today, resulting in hospital overcrowding on Christmas.
After a precipitous decline in 999 calls in many locations, health officials have predicted an imminent resurgence in calls.
They anticipate an increase in demand beginning today, when patients who waited throughout the ambulance strike seek treatment. Those who did make it to A&E grumbled about the inconvenience caused by the protest, and home deliveries were canceled in the event of problems.
Up to 10,000 ambulance personnel, including paramedics, technicians, and call handlers, participated in strike action at ten of England and Wales’ eleven ambulance trusts.
Yesterday, paramedics, ambulance technicians, and call handlers across England and Wales walked out in front of the West Midlands Ambulance Service headquarters in Coventry. NHS trusts today fear a rebound as people delay treatment.
Outside NHS London Ambulance Service in London, ambulance personnel participate in a strike over a pay dispute with the government.
Yesterday, ambulance services reached more than half of the United Kingdom.
According to ambulance trusts, 999 calls were lower than usual, raising concerns that patients delayed seeking help and will be sicker today and tomorrow when they clog phone lines and A&E facilities.
More strike mayhem TODAY, National Highways employees will be on holiday for four days, while 20 million drivers will embark on the “worst Christmas vacation ever.”
The United Kingdom is prepared for yet another day of strike upheaval as National Highway employees are the next to walk off the job, following a week of disruptions that have seen thousands of paramedics and nurses walk off the job.
Due to strikes by the train and National Highway unions, it will be difficult for Britons returning home for Christmas to travel by road or rail beginning on Friday. Additionally, border force employees will also go on strike.
From 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve to 6 a.m. on the 27th of December, there will be yet another countrywide rail strike.
The industrial action will cause chaos for individuals traveling across the United Kingdom to visit family for the Christmas.
It follows a week in which nurses and paramedics walked off the job in a dispute over wages, placing additional burden on an already beleaguered NHS.
Critics have asserted that the action will jeopardize lives, but Unison, the union representing the striking ambulance workers, stated that the NHS has long-standing problems unrelated to the strike and that it was the government’s responsibility to begin negotiations.
Additionally, NHS leaders and unions have assured the public that the strikes will not affect life-saving services.
During the paramedics’ strike, people have been encouraged to only dial 999 for an ambulance if the situation is life-threatening, while some families are compelled to drive their loved ones to A&E.
In the latest phase of industrial action by the United Kingdom’s largest civil service union, National Highways employees will strike from tonight until Christmas Day.
North East Ambulance Service chief operating officer Stephen Segasby issued a stern warning, advising patients to question themselves, “Am I going to die?” Do I feel like I’m going to die’ before seeking medical treatment.
West Midlands Ambulance Service reported a 70% decline in calls, while south-west England saw a 33% decline in usual call numbers.
The chief executive officer of the Welsh Ambulance Service, Jason Killens, stated that yesterday was “noticeably quieter.”
The number of calls to the 111 non-emergency line increased by 250 percent in the South West. GPs received an increase in calls.
Experts in the field of health cautioned, however, that sick individuals may be delaying care, resulting in a similar backlog of health issues as after the lockdowns.
This not only jeopardizes their health but also stores up difficulty for the upcoming days, when the ambulance team will resume routine operations.
As elective surgeries and outpatient appointments are rescheduled, there will be a ripple effect in other areas of the health system.
Dr. Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, stated, “We are particularly concerned about a rebound impact, which suggests that things could become far worse in the coming days.”
The temporary chief executive officer of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery, stated, “The disruption is far from done.” As a result of the knock-on effect throughout all sectors of the health and care system, the need to reschedule elective and outpatient appointments, and the anticipated return of very high numbers of emergency calls, the fallout from strike action is expected to continue into the following days.
“Patients who may have delayed seeking treatment and whose health have deteriorated are of special concern now that they are presenting for therapy,”
Many made their own way to the hospital to avoid lengthy ambulance wait times.
Lee Tucker, age 57, took a day off work to transport his elderly mother-in-law to A&E at Queen’s Medical Hospital (QMH) in Nottingham after she fractured her leg in a fall.
He stated, “I’ll always go out of my way to help my family, but I’ve missed a key meeting because I had to leave the workplace for the day.”
Sarah Chaplin, 47, who took a taxi to the same hospital with her aunt who had fractured her wrist, said, ‘The taxi fares would cost us £20, which is a burden we could have done without so close to the holidays.
I believe that because ambulances are so vital to sick patients, their drivers should not be permitted to go on strike.
As anxious members of the public called to arrange rides to the hospital, taxi drivers around the nation enjoyed a lucrative day.
By lunchtime, Paul Harris had already dropped off four individuals at QMH.
He stated, “Some of them had difficulty breathing.” It is unfair that elderly individuals who have paid taxes their entire lives must pay for transportation to the hospital.
A woman in Newcastle-upon-Tyne who need treatment for an eating disorder was driven to Royal Victoria Infirmary by a friend. Cheryl, a woman in her thirties, remarked, ‘It was all quite inconvenient, and I can see why some people find it reprehensible.’
A resourceful senior citizen contacted her caregivers for assistance after she tripped and fell.
Margaret, 77, from Orpington, reported to BBC Radio 5 Live, “In the past, I’ve called an ambulance, but this morning I called my caregivers and they arrived within minutes.” They have already instructed you to call our office if you cannot return to bed tonight if you are unable to sleep.
The aspirations of expectant moms planning home births were crushed when warnings were issued and services were discontinued.
In west London, Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust informed expectant mothers, “There is no guarantee that an ambulance or paramedic would come to your home to assist you during labor or in an emergency.”
Please make sure you have transportation to the hospital, such as a car or taxi. The Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust “highly encouraged” giving delivery at its maternity department, adding that failure to do so “may jeopardize the safety of you and your baby.”
Because of the strike, the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust in London has suspended its home birth service.
Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley complained that nurses’ and then ambulance workers’ strikes were preventing police officers from safeguarding Londoners.
He told LBC’s Nick Ferrari, ‘The thing that worries me the most is that if we take on more mental health and other [social] activities, we stop responding to burglaries, stabbings, and other crimes.
I believe my officers will find it infuriating that they are filling in for striking public officials when they are not permitted to strike themselves. They have no desire to strike; they want to work and safeguard London.
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