Ambulance service will only cover 'most urgent calls' during strike action
Ambulances will respond to "the most urgent calls" across the West Midlands despite strike action, according to bosses.
West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) has confirmed the outcome of its discussions with staff over the level of service which will be provided during Wednesday's strike action.
In a statement, WMAS's emergency services operations delivery director, Nathan Hudson, said that there was an agreement that crews would attend "the most urgent calls such as cardiac arrests", as well as "other very serious cases such as heart attacks, strokes, difficulty in breathing and maternity cases".
A statement from WMAS said: "The public of the West Midlands are being given an assurance that, on Wednesday, the ambulance service will continue to respond to incidents where this is a threat to life, despite strike action by two of our unions.
"The trust respects the right of trade union members to take such action or demonstrate their support for strike action. It should be noted that the action is in response to a national pay dispute with the Government."
The strike will see members of Unite walk out from 6am to 5.59pm on Wednesday, while members of the GMB union will strike throughout the entire day.
Mr Hudson, said: “We have had productive discussions with our staffside colleagues to agree that ambulances will respond to the most urgent calls such as cardiac arrests and where a crew request immediate back up at the scene of a case [as well as] other very serious cases such as heart attacks, strokes, difficulty in breathing and maternity cases.
“In addition, staff in our non-emergency patient transport service will continue to convey vulnerable groups, such as patients undertaking renal dialysis, cancer treatments, palliative care, emergency scans, within the strike period timeframe."
Mr Hudson urged the public only to call for an ambulance if the situation is critical, or someone's life is at risk.
He said: “Only call 999 if you or the patient is critically unwell or there is risk to life. Ambulances will be dispatched where clinically appropriate.
“If you need medical help or advice, go to NHS 111 online (111.nhs.uk), your local GP or pharmacy.”
