What happens when paramedics strike?

[Pleasepleasepleaseno]

I've tried to find out but the news articles I've read so far don't really explain what the plan B is. Will it be like when there's a train strike and there just are no trains? Surely that can't be the case? If someone has a carcrash or a stroke or whatever they'll still send help, right?

Of course they will, it’s not just going to be a case of walking out and saying ‘sorry, you’ll just have to bleed to death’; emergency workers will either strike in shifts or Army medics will be brought in to assist.

They have stated that where’s there’s ‘threat to life’ calls will be answered.

They will still be covering the top priority incidents, heart attacks/stroke etc but for things such as falls etc I think you could expect to be waiting a longer time. They may need to draft in other avenues of support such as the army etc.

They will answer emergency calls, they won’t be transporting patients to clinics etc - the army will step in.

In our area only one of the three unions will be taking action, and that action will be limited not all out. So it’s likely to be the lower priority calls that will be hit and people will be advised to make their own way to hospital if possible.

They get their payrise, hopefully!

Part of me wonders if the service might improve on strike days if they're only taking cases where there's a risk to life. Maybe people who are having a heart attack might not have to wait so long for an ambulance if non-urgent/non-life threatening cases are being ruled out?

Whatever, I really hope they get a decent pay rise.

It's kind of a pointless exercise really. They will still attend high priority call outs, which is pretty much all they attend anyhow. So if you have broken your arm, they won't come. But they wouldn't have attended anyway. Some routine patient transport might be effected but lots of that is contracted privately already.

They just need blue light drivers and if they don’t have enough usually get the police or fire service in. Whilst Tory ministers play with their divisions.

The issue is the need for paramedics or doctors to do the assessment and treatment part,

Cover will me be provided by non striking staff, management, blue light drivers and redeployed doctors.

People tend to not time waste NHS time during strikes and major incidents.

The main thing I worry about is broken bones. If it's an arm, it may be that someone else can take you. I've had a spinal injury and ankle, could not have sorted that without an ambulance.

i might have to just sit on the sofa on paramedic strike days! I do support them.

The main thing I worry about is broken bones. If it's an arm, it may be that someone else can take you. I've had a spinal injury and ankle, could not have sorted that without an ambulance.

Gosh it would be awful if they refused to come out in those circumstances. Mind you, we waited 10 hours overnight for an ambulance for my MIL when she fell and broke her hip three years ago. She was in agony and obviously we couldn't take her in ourselves.

Your poor MIL. I had another friend who waited 5 hours for an ambulance when he broke his leg in 3 places. This was back in 2010. No one can move someone with that kind of injury.

The unions are in discussions to hash out what strikes will look like.

Its not just about pay despite what the media say. Its about everyone in the ambulance service being so broken and downtrodden that its a struggle to work each day. Our retirement age is 67 like the NHS at large but should be in line with fire and police because our frontline role means we are exposed to extreme risk and immense emotional trauma every single day alongside the very physically demanding nature with carrying the heaviest kit and patients multiple times a shift. Every single one of us has fucked up knees, back and ptsd in some form. Its a joke among ourselves that no one gets to enjoy retirement as we just drop dead. Frontline emergency ambulance work is now listed as the most dangerous job you can do because we walk in just 2 of us into unknown situations. We drive for hours on blue lights during a minimum 12 hr shift but are always over-running so it's sometimes 15 hours long. We get a measly 30 minute break during that shift at a time and location not of our choosing but it's also the not uncommon to be allocated your break right at the end or not be given it at all. We go to total waste of time calls like you would not believe because people lie and say the trigger words to get us out. People use us as a taxi when they are fully able. People call us for the most minor things which stops us getting to genuine emergencies in a timely manner and for that I apologise. Yesterday i got diverted from a 80 year old that had been on the floor with a potential fractured hip for 8hours to be sent on blue lights to a blocked nose (she'd lied and said she had severe breathing difficulties) while on the radio control begged anyone that was free to attend a cardiac arrest emergency. That 80 year old could have been my mum and I have no idea when she was seen by us. Ive queued outside in my ambulance with patients for almost 9 hours because there is nowhere for them to go and the hospital locks its doors to the many ambulances waiting outside with patients on board who are then defecating on incontinence pads.

Theres a reason why the ambulance charity TASC is now funding a 24hr suicide helpline.

Nein what did you say to blocked nose? I'm guessing there's a ton of bureaucracy around that?

(After checking her over and acertaining there was nothing wrong)

Blow your nose.

Better? Great.

Now then, tell me exactly why you needed a 999 emergency ambulance for that...

And did she reply?
sorry for the questions, I just can't get my head round it, it's so mad.

@Nein9Nine I support you.

i know many older people who have waited several hours on the floor after a fall. They are so frail and it wouldn’t be safe to get to them up. These are the people that aren’t a priority.

They are still attending emergencies so it won't be much different to it is now.

Emergency's will be covered. Wards will be staffed. All the elective things will likely be cancelled.

Threat to life calls are already not answered. I don't understand how it can be said that they will be with fewer staff and ambulances.

I absolutely support the need for a pay rise, but the ultimate victims of mismanaged funding in the NHS are the patients. That has been the case for decades now.

It will be probably better for emergencies than it normally is as they will be just doing that

Threat to life calls are already not answered. I don't understand how it can be said that they will be with fewer staff and ambulances

The strikes highlight this. It’s not just about money (although recruitment and retention depend on good salaries) but the working conditions and safety of services that are haemorrhaging staff.

Ambulances and hospitals have been broken for well over a year and seemingly this has been completely ignored by politicians and the media. There’s a lot of people who can back that up with personal experience but the majority don’t realise (or want to realise) until it actually happens to them.

Falls can be deadly for the elderly if they are left on.the floor too long sadly. My granny fell and she lived alone. We didn't find her till the next day. We called an ambulance, it came within the hour and took her blue light to hospital. She still died sadly and not as a direct result of her fall injuries but because if being stuck in one position for so long, which caused her kidneys to.shut down. It was so awful. If falls aren't attended I imagine there will be a lot of cases like that, even if they're not on their own.

@Nein9Nine - your post is truly shocking. I hope the strike is a catalyst for improvement in working conditions.