Northern Ireland ambulance workers to respond only to high priority 'life and limb' calls in strike

Ambulance workers in Northern Ireland will respond only to the highest priority "life and limb" emergency calls on Thursday when they go on strike, it has emerged.
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Members of the Unison, Unite and Nipsa trade unions are set for picket lines again on Thursday at hospitals across Northern Ireland.

With workers not just in the ambulance service but across huge swathes of the health service due to take part, union chiefs and health trust bosses are still in discussions about what services will and will not be covered as the long-running dispute over pay continues.

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While those talks have focused on ensuring patient safety, the wider pay dispute seems set to continue in the immediate future, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak having said he is not able to “wave a magic wand” and that giving pay rises to striking staff would lead to money being taken away from “elsewhere in the NHS budget”.

The entrance to the Royal Victoria Hospital A&E Department in west Belfast. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEyeThe entrance to the Royal Victoria Hospital A&E Department in west Belfast. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye
The entrance to the Royal Victoria Hospital A&E Department in west Belfast. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

But he insisted that the Government would continue to “engage in dialogue with the unions”.

In Northern Ireland, unions are pushing for the Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris to step in as the deadlock at Stormont continues.

Ahead of Thursday's strikes, which could be the most significant to date in the industrial action in the Northern Ireland health service, the largest trade union involved in the dispute – Unison – has published a detailed update on the actions its members in the ambulance service will take.

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The union said its emergency ambulance control officers will "report for duty as normal but only dispatch to Category 1 calls and Category 2 'life & limb' threatening calls in the community", while its emergency ambulance control members will decline "routine work" but continue to answer 999 calls.

Other ambulance service workers, including emergency medical dispatch staff, clinical support paramedics, cleaning teams and a host of others will continue to carry out some duties during the strike period – as well as attending picket lines at hospitals throughout Northern Ireland.

A spokesperson for the Northern Trust, meanwhile, said: “To date we have taken the decision to stand down all day centre and adult centre activity for January 26, and there is likely to be significant impact to domiciliary care and GP treatment room services.”