Tory Health Minister tells Brits don’t do anything ‘risky’ during ambulance strike

A Tory Health Minister has urged Brits not to engage in “risky activity” during ambulance strikes – as the Government continues to block pay talks.

Will Quince said he strongly encouraged people not to take risks during Wednesday’s walkouts by emergency crews as there would be major disruption to service.

He failed to expand on what he meant by this – nor admit that ambulance callouts often relate to illnesses like heart attacks and strokes rather than injuries.

More than 10,000 ambulance workers from Unite, GMB and Unison unions, including paramedics, control room workers and technicians, will go on strike in England and Wales on Wednesday.

It comes as tens of thousands of nurses down tools today for their second day of nationwide industrial action.

But the Government continues to resist calls from union leaders to avert the strikes by getting round the table to discuss pay.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay is due to meet ambulance unions today for eleventh hour talks but he still won’t discuss wage increases.

Ambulances are still expected to respond to life threatening 999 calls, such as heart attacks and strokes.

But taxis will be used to ferry patients to hospital with less urgent health concerns, the Government has previously admitted.

Today, Mr Quince said he was “concerned” about the action and encouraged people not to take part in “risky activity” on Wednesday, due to the scale of the disruption.

“Where people are planning any risky activity, I would strongly encourage them not to do so,” he told BBC Breakfast.

He said anyone with chest pains should call 999, but anyone with a non life-threatening concern should contact NHS 111.

He told the Today programme: “If you have chest pains, call 999 and the expectation is, and I’ve been really clear with you, I don’t think that there is any paramedic, ambulance technician, anyone working in our NHS, whether they’re on a picket line or not, that would not respond to a 999 call where somebody has chest pains and there is a threat of a heart attack.

“Call 999, a clinician will assess that call and then consider the appropriate action whether that’s an ambulance, whether it’s community services, whether it’s NHS 111.”

Some 750 troops are being drafted in to assist during the strikes – but they won’t be able to run red lights or break the speed limit.

Unions have branded the move a “desperate measure”, warning the servicemen and women are not “sufficiently trained” to plug staffing gaps on the front line, while the Chief of the Defence Staff has said the armed forces should not be treated as “spare capacity”.

Unions are calling for improved pay offers for hard-working staff, after the Government offered below inflation wage hikes to NHS workers.

The Royal College of Nursing has called for 5% above inflation increases, while other unions have not put a figure on their demands.