UK paramedics strike again for higher pay

British paramedics are on strike for the second time in a short time. Like last time, paramedics, nurses and dispatchers are demanding pay rises because inflation is soaring.

Ambulances move in life-threatening situations, but for less urgent trips, they stay in the garage. Patients are then faced with the question of whether they can organize transport to a hospital themselves.

According to British media, more than 20,000 people took part in the strike. Health authorities say it is still too early to determine the effect of the strike. It is certain, according to them, that the blow to health care will be great.

An emergency worker at a hospital in central England spoke to the BBC about an unusually calm day. Normally there are fifteen or sixteen ambulances at the door, when asked there were five.

UK inflation was 11.1% in October and 10.7% in November. According to the unions, paramedics and dispatchers earn almost less than minimum wage.

The unions not only want a salary increase, but also that the capacity of the ambulance service be increased. According to the unions, people who need an ambulance often have to wait too long for it to reach them.

They also believe that more should be invested in hospitals. Ambulance personnel are often told in a hospital that there is no room for the patient yet. “Sometimes there are hundreds of rides waiting in the control room, while we sit in the back of an ambulance for hours waiting for a bed to become free in the hospital,” said a nurse at the BBC.

Strikes have also taken place recently in other sectors of the British economy. In the public sector in particular, salaries have not kept up with the rapid increase in the cost of living. A civil servants’ strike is scheduled for February 1.

Monday was the last meeting between the government and the unions, but it did not lead to a breakthrough.