This month, trade unions announced that ambulance workers across nine trusts in England will be striking on the 11th and 23rd of January. They stated that on these dates, ambulances will only be responding to life-threatening emergencies. This is something which could cause a spike in medical negligence cases.
The recent challenges to the NHS
The NHS Confederation points out that the ambulance system has been under significant pressure over the past 18+ months. Demand hasn’t shown any signs of abating since the turbulent times of the pandemic.
Between February 2021 and August 2021, for example, the ambulance service responded to 60% more calls. Calls for more serious conditions, such as cardiac arrests, rose by 51% during this period.
This has impacted the wider NHS system, with hospitals often struggling to accommodate patients brought by ambulance to the hospital. In the same period, patient handover wait times lasting longer than an hour increased by 285%.
What is regarded as “life-threatening?”
When unions state that striking ambulance services will only attend “life-threatening” emergencies, they are referring to a category system used by the emergency services to determine the seriousness of a call. “Life-threatening” emergencies are placed in Category 1. These emergencies include cardiac or respiratory arrest, where the patient requires immediate medical intervention.
What repercussions can we expect?
With fewer ambulances responding on these days, certain repercussions are to be expected. There are likely to be more patients with issues of a higher severity turning up by car, potentially showing up at the wrong hospital. Dr. Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine told The Telegraph that although patients are most likely to navigate themselves to the nearest hospital, they are unlikely to know whether that hospital offers the type of care they require.
A&E is also likely to be busier than normal, with many would-be ambulance patients instead filling the waiting areas.
Who is at the most risk?
Some attempts are being made to mitigate the risk to the general population. The Armed Forces are being trained to drive ambulances during strike days.
The strike days could have implications for people who are already vulnerable, such as the elderly or terminally ill. Sometimes people can feel tempted to downplay their medical emergency to 999, but it’s more important than ever on a strike day not to do this.
Some people rely on NHS ambulances to take them to hospital appointments, so these people should be aware that they will probably need to make alternative travel arrangements.
If you find yourself in need of medical help on a strike day, it’s important you seek it out if you need it. For those who don’t have a life-threatening emergency, the NHS 111 helpline will still be functioning as usual.
