Ambulance strikes: Sheffield urged only to call 999 in life-threatening emergencies or serious illness as walkout begins

Ambulance workers and paramedics across Sheffield will take to picket lines on February 6 as talks between the Government and unions continue to fail. It will include around 1,370 staff from the Yorkshire Ambulance Service who are members of the GMB union.

Monday marks what some outlets are calling the biggest day of NHS industrial action ever, with around 25,000 ambulance workers staging industrial action until midnight nationwide alongside call handlers and nurses in a coordinated walkout.

It comes after Unison and GMB members from three of Sheffield’s ambulance stations – Middlewood, Batemoor, and Longley – took a reduced number of 999 calls at the first strike on January 10. On Monday, the only picket line in Sheffield will be at Middlewood Ambulance Station.

However, Yorkshire Ambulance Service is urging the public to only dial 999 in a true emergency due to the reduced capacity.

Nick Smith, executive director of operations at Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, said: “During the previous three strike days, the public responded as we’d asked them to and used our emergency service appropriately for very serious and life-threatening incidents. This was very helpful and eased the challenges we faced.

“With further industrial action across key services, we will have less resources available to respond to patients on February 6. Services will be severely disrupted, with the likelihood of delays in emergency responses and telephone calls to 999 and NHS 111 being answered.

“So, once again, we are asking the public to use our services wisely, but particularly our emergency ambulance service. We will be here for those who really need us, but you should only call 999 when someone is in a life-threatening or very serious condition as we prioritise our responses.”

As The Star reported in January, ambulance drivers will still respond to life-threatening emergencies, and indeed at the picket line several ambulances stood idling and stocked to head out.

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