Strikes across England and Wales

Health bosses have warned the public of a patient safety risk as they are unable to guarantee that the ambulance worker strikes across England and Wales will not affect them.

Not only are the ambulance workers set to go on strike from today, nurses have also been forced to strike as a result of ongoing issues surrounding pay.

NHS England have maintained their position that emergency care will continue – but is this really be the case? In recent years we have seen an ever increasing pressure on the NHS to maintain standards and promote patient safety.

This is not always the case and we often see delays and people struggling to get healthcare as a result. This not only puts the patients health at risk, it also forces some patients to turn to often unaffordable private sector care.

‘Ambulance response times are already twice as long as two years ago’, which the impending strikes this is only going to increase. This will lead to patients struggling to get the treatment they require and could leave many for hours without medical intervention.

The strikes across England and Wales are likely going to have a domino effect onto other areas of the NHS; such as GP surgeries, hospitals and NHS 111. People have been asked to use NHS services ‘wisely’ and only contact 999 in a life-threatening emergency.

What to expect on days of the strikes

Unions and their members are set to strike from 21 December 2022 until 28 December 2022.

It is stated that should you require emergency care, staff will be answering 999 calls. However, the care you would expect to receive in an emergency may not be what you receive.

All Category 1 (life-threatening situations) have been said will be responded to by an ambulance. However, those urgent situations that fit into Category 3 for example will not be prioritised. Category 3 situations include a woman in late-stage labour, this may result in significant harm to both mother and baby should a home-birth be required.

Consequences of strike action

There will be significant consequences of strike action in England and Wales, ranging from delays in diagnosis to potentially death following life threatening situations where an ambulance is unable to get to a patient in a timely manner.

If you consider that you have been harmed as a result of strike action and delays across the NHS, please feel free to get in touch for a consultation with a member of our clinical negligence team.

Further reading

Medical misdiagnosis or delay – Oakwood Solicitors

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