Ambulance workers are making a show of solidarity across the county this morning, as thousands go on strike over pay and conditions.

Crews at the Isle of Sheppey and Medway ambulance stations are among those on the picket line, joining more than 25,000 members of the GMB, Unison and Unite unions walking out in England and Wales today.

The action involves ambulance workers, paramedics, call handlers and emergency care assistants in 10 out of 11 NHS trusts, and follows a dispute over the government's 4% pay award.

Unions say the pay rise amounts to a real terms pay cut with inflation at 11%.

But as many crew members have stressed, the action is as much about working conditions and the ongoing impact of underfunding across the NHS.
With the NHS overwhelmed and understaffed, ambulance crews have regularly reported having to wait outside hospitals, caring for patients that need to be admitted for treatment, instead of being able to carry on with the job of responding to emergency calls.

Placards at the stations in Queenborough and Gillingham this morning backed up that point, highlighting that "one in three paramedics have seen deaths from delays" and that there are currently "130,000+ NHS vacancies".

John Morphey is a paramedic with the South East Coast Ambulance Trust (Secamb) and GMB union representative who was on the picket line outside Sheppey Ambulance Station at Queenborough.

He stressed: "This is not just about the money. This is about the future of the NHS.

"I've been on jobs where I have been to people in their 80s and 90s who have spent six to 10 hours on the floor without any help. That's grossly wrong - and that's on a non-strike day.

"It's down to a lack of funding which goes back to 2008 when austerity started. When I started as a paramedic 19 years ago there were more ambulances and hospital beds. It's very frustrating trying to keep the public safe.

"It needs more money and better paid staff. Junior staff I work with get £1 more than people who work in supermarkets. That's got to be wrong when they are saving lives on a daily basis."

"All this could have been avoided if were able to have constructive conversations."

Jez LeFevre, 56, a former firefighter who joined the ambulance service four years ago, said: "I never expected to end up on a picket line when I joined. We do this because we love the job.

"But it is frustrating when we have to stack ambulances outside A&E units. Some might think we are having a chat and a coffee but that's not the case. We are caring for our patients in the back of an ambulance the whole time."

Ambulance technician Ryan O'Bray, 26, has been working on the ambulances for five years and remained on call while on the picket line.

He said: "The reaction from the public has been superb. Car drivers have been honking their horns in support as they pass and one lady dropped off a packet of biscuits."

He admitted: "I'm not sure the strike will work but we want to put the government under pressure to take action. It's not just about pay, the priority is about patient safety."

Ambulance staff mounted a picket line on the pavement on the A2 near Medway Ambulance Station at Gillingham.

GMB union representative Murray Robinson said: "Some of us are striking, some are responding to calls and some are working as normal.

"Over the past 10 years we have suffered a real-terms pay cut and with interest rates rising and the cost of living going up some of us may not be able to afford to pay our mortgages long term and some NHS staff are already forced to use food banks to survive.

"The NHS is in crisis. Patients have been facing long waits every day and ambulance response times are not being met with ambulances queuing outside A&E units for hours on end. Health secretary Steve Barclay should invite our union reps to speak to him."

While we were on the picket line a stream of motorists honked their horns as they drove past and one member of the public turned up with a tray of hot drinks.

It is expected that all category 1 calls – the most life-threatening such as cardiac arrest – will be responded to.

Some ambulance trusts have agreed to exemptions with unions for specific incidents within so-called category 2 which covers serious conditions, such as stroke or chest pain.

However, patients in category three – typically including falls – and category four are unlikely to be sent an ambulance during the strikes.

Military personnel are being drafted in to provide support on ambulance calls during the strike but will not drive ambulances on blue lights for the most serious calls.

The Department of Health and Social Care has said advice remains for people to call 999 in an emergency.

Health minister Will Quince urged people to stay safe during Wednesday’s strike, telling BBC Breakfast: “Where people are planning any risky activity, I would strongly encourage them not to do so because there will be disruption on the day.”

It comes as the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) said A&E departments are expecting some patients to turn up to hospital via cars rather than ambulances, and the medical director of NHS England urged people not to get “blind drunk”.

Professor Sir Stephen Powis also said ambulance strikes will create a “very difficult day” for the health service, but that heart attacks and strokes would be covered.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Today is obviously going to be a very difficult day with the health service.

“But we’ve been working very closely with the unions to ensure that emergency services for life-threatening conditions are maintained, and that will include stroke and heart attacks.

“There are increased clinicians in call centres to ensure that the right response goes out to the right incident.”

Across the country, affected ambulance services include:

– South West Ambulance Service

– South East Coast Ambulance Service

– North West Ambulance Service

– South Central Ambulance Service

– North East Ambulance Service

– East Midlands Ambulance Service

– West Midlands Ambulance Service

– Welsh Ambulance Service

– Yorkshire Ambulance Service.

– London Ambulance Service