U.K. Braces Amid Largest Walkout by Ambulance Workers in Decades

On Wednesday, the ambulance services were responding only to the most critical cases.

Before the walkout — in which over 20,000 workers were expected to take part — some hospitals asked people to arrange their own transportation to hospitals, including pregnant women going into labor. Patients needing nonurgent care were advised to look elsewhere for advice, including by telephone or from general practitioners or pharmacists.

With Christmas and end-of-year celebrations underway, health leaders urged people to avoid risky behavior on a day when services would be stretched. “Don’t get so drunk that you end up with an unnecessary visit to A. E.,” Stephen Powis, the N.H.S. medical director for England, said in a BBC interview, referring to the Accident and Emergency departments at hospitals.

The health service’s management said before the strike that there was “deep worry” about potential harm to patients at a time when the service was already under intense pressure.

“This is not something N.H.S. leaders would ever say lightly, but some now tell us that they cannot guarantee patient safety tomorrow,” Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the N.H.S. Confederation, which represents the service’s organizations in England, said on Tuesday.

The N.H.S. planned to manage the walkouts by calling in military personnel and volunteers, increasing staffing at call centers and discharging patients from hospitals where possible to free up beds.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/21/world/europe/uk-ambulance-workers-strike.html