‘There are people in the NHS who have to go to food banks. This is not just about pay, it’s about respect’
PARAMEDICS ON PICKET LINE THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY
AMBULANCE workers joined picket lines across Leicestershire during the biggest day of industrial action in the history of the NHS.
Nationally, nurses and ambulance staff on Monday walked out together for the first time.
Although the nurses’ strike action did not affect Leicestershire on Monday, there were picket lines of ambulance staff in Leicester, Narborough, Hinckley, Loughborough and Oakham, and bosses at East Midlands Ambulance Service (Emas) warned it would be another “challenging” day.
The strike follows two previous days of industrial action this winter – and there is no end in sight.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said strikes would continue for “as long as it takes”, while the Unite union warned of a “constant cycle” of industrial action.
The walkout took place as unions continue to reject the government’s offer of a four per cent pay rise – but workers said on Monday that the protracted dispute is about much more than money.
One paramedic, who has been in the job for 20 years, said the strike was about “respect, conditions and patients” as well as pay.
The 53-year-old man, who did not want to be named, said: “We’re doing longer hours and taking on more responsibility. We’re essentially becoming intensive care units on tyres, which isn’t good for patients.”
Like many of his colleagues, he said he has found himself waiting hours in the widely-reported ambulance queues outside the accident and emergency department at Leicester Royal Infirmary on a number of occasions.
Having watched the NHS “decline in the past 10 or so years”, he said he was taking part in the action to protect it.
He said: “This is about the future of the NHS. It’s going to affect younger people who are just starting. These younger people coming in are sitting on a degree and it’s not commanding the pay they deserve.
“They’re going to have to work longer just to get a pension. There are people now, not just in the NHS but all the public services, who are having to go to food banks. It’s not just about pay, it’s about respect.”
He was joined at the Goodwood Station picket, in Evington, by his younger colleague, George, aged 25.
The young paramedic, who did not want to give his full name, said only five of his university cohort remained with the NHS today, adding that there was “very little incentive” for him to stay.
Shortly after our conversation, George left the picket line to attend a Category 1 call – a life- threatening emergency.
He was one of many who have chosen to continue attending the most serious jobs during industrial action.
Sarah Quigley, an emergency medical technician, joined her colleagues outside Gorse Hill station, in Beaumont Leys, where a second crew was called to a Category 2 call, while speaking to us.
The 48-year-old said: “Because we’re striking, the most poorly people are actually getting seen to.
“We do this job because we care and would rather be working than standing out in the freezing cold. We’re here to make a change.
“Things have become worse yearon-year. Previously I was working in hospitals and it was very understaffed back then – and that was 12 years ago.
“It has come to the point now where we’re sitting down (in ambulances) at the hospital listening to very sick people not being tended to. That’s not what we wanted.
“It wasn’t like this at all when I started nine years ago. Back then if you waited two hours it was a ridiculous amount of time.”
Workers told us they were constantly propping each other up and generating morale for one another during difficult times.
Another younger paramedic, aged 27, said it had been a “difficult” four years since joining the service.
She said: “You do feel personally responsible for it to an extent because you’re there with the patient.
“I love my job but if you’re one of those workers who gets stuck in the queue at the hospital all day with no break, then it is really hard to find a silver lining.
“You have that voice in the back of your head that you have to push through, but then you’re also risking becoming burnt-out.
“I know a lot of those who have left because of that. It does get to people.” Further strikes are expected, including another later this month on Monday, February 20.
Union leaders have implored the government to act to prevent further strike action, but ministers in England have indicated that they will not budge on one of the main points of contention – pay for 2022/23.
Nurses were on strike again on Tuesday, ambulance workers again on Friday and physiotherapists on Thursday.
NHS leaders said it will be the “most disruptive week of strikes to date” – but urged people to seek urgent and emergency care if they need it and attend appointments as planned unless they have been contacted in advance.
Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts, said: “I think it’s going to be a hugely disrupted day across the NHS. It’s going to be incredibly challenging.
“With both nurses and ambulance staff out on strike today, and nurses again tomorrow – and we’ve got physiotherapist later in the week and some ambulance staff again on Friday – we’re planning for an incredibly disrupted week.”
She urged the government to negotiate with unions on 2022/23 pay.
“I hope it ends by the government coming around the table to negotiate a settlement for this year’s pay for NHS staff,” she said.
“I think that we need to recognise that NHS staff have faced soaring costs, (the) cost of living has gone up, inflation has gone up, and the settlement from this year’s pay review body was made at a time when inflation wasn’t at the levels it’s at at the moment.
“So I think it’s really important that we focus on getting a deal for this year, as well as then thinking about what next year’s pay deal looks like.”
But during a visit to Kingston Hospital in south-west London, Health Secretary Steve Barclay remained resolute.
“We have been discussing this coming year – from April – pay with the unions,” he said.
“We have this process through the pay review body; it’s an independent process and we’re keen to get the evidence so that reflects the pressure that the NHS has been under and the wider context in terms of inflation.
“I don’t think it’s right to go back to last year, back to April, retrospectively.”
Meanwhile, Downing Street said it wants to look forward and “not backwards” when it comes to negotiating on pay.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman, asked about Rishi Sunak’s plan for ending the strikes, said: “We want to keep discussing how we can find a path forward with the unions.
“Our long-standing position is that above-inflation pay rises are not acceptable.”