United Kingdom, in a "critical" situation due to the ambulance strike: "People may be waiting for more than 24 hours if it is not a case of life or death"

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The hustle and bustle of the Royal Free Hospital Emergency Room gave way to an eerie stillness.

A single ambulance had been waiting for instructions for an hour, when it left two injured in a traffic accident, the only intervention in the whole morning...

," confessed the driver, who gave his name simply as James.

"I am here covering the minimum services, but I fully support the strike, not because of the money but because of the increasingly precarious working conditions."

It was the first strike in 30 years by more than 17,000 UK drivers, paramedics and ambulance staff, a day after 100,000 nurses went on strike.

Up to seven emergency assistance services attached to the National Health System (NHS) declared "critical incidents", with the lives of patients at severe risk due to the lack of medical attention.

In London, half of the 400 ambulances stayed in the garage, and many of those that finally circulated were driven by some of the 750 soldiers deployed to deal with the "contingency".

, even in cases of heart attack or stroke (regarded as "category two").

Liam Fielding, 83, was lucky enough to have his daughter Sally with him for his transfer to the Royal Free Hospital for follow-up after hip surgery.

"He can hardly move, but we were able to get him into the car between two people," explained Sally, who worked up a sweat so a nurse could help put her father in the wheelchair.

"Going to the hospital is starting to be an ordeal for anyone, especially due to the lack of staff," Sally lamented.

"In any case, I take my hat off to these people, who gave their all during the pandemic and who have not seen the slightest reward for their effort. They work endless shifts and are paid a pittance.

."

The morning moves slowly at the Royal Free Hospital, without the daily noise of ambulances.

The unions have picked up their pickets in other points, such as in the symbolic Waterloo, south of the Thames, with the leader of Unison Christina McAnea on the megaphone: "They refuse to negotiate our working conditions and they put fear into people.

, which has allowed the deterioration of public health that we all suffer".

Christina McAnea, Unison's general secretary, along with several ambulance workers, in London.AFP

"There are more than 130,000 vacancies in the NHS and 3,000 are in ambulances," laments paramedic Ian Thomas, 47, at his side.

"People are leaving in desperation because they can't stand the work pressure. The service is getting worse and worse and

. I myself am looking for another job And if this isn't resolved soon, I'll take the leap."

Harry Maskers, a 34-year-old former marine who works as an emergency attendant in Wales, recounted his experience to the PA agency: "This is more traumatic than working for the army. One day you try to save someone's life and the next day you go to a food bank because your salary doesn't reach you. It's demoralizing to work in these conditions. Every call was critical for us, but now they go unanswered because there aren't enough people. For practical purposes, it's as if we were there every day strike".

The mobilization of the army to "bust" the ambulance strike put the unions on guard.

Of the 750 "mobilized" soldiers,

and another 150 participated in support work.

In any case, they had orders not to exceed the speed limit and not to run traffic lights with ambulances.

Health Secretary Steven Barclay called on his compatriots to use "common sense" and avoid "overburdening the health system on a day of severe pressure."

The situation in hospitals was so worrying that the health authorities

.

Barclay incidentally accused the unions of not having been able to "guarantee a response to the most serious emergencies."

The Secretary of Health assured that the obstructionist maneuvers made it "almost impossible to prepare contingency plans and the deployment of military personnel behind the wheel of ambulances."

"The British are going to have to use 'common sense' 365 days a year before going to a hospital,"

Sharon Graham, of the Unite union, replied at a picket in the city of Coventry.

"The NHS is in a critical situation, and the Government is incapable of sitting down and negotiating with us, not just wage increases, but the urgent need to retain and recruit staff."

The chaos of the ambulances occurs one day after the second day of strike of more than 100,000 nurses and nurses demanding a salary increase of 19%.

The strikes will continue on designated days during Christmas and foreseeably until well into 2023.

"We are entering dangerous territory

," warned Matthew Taylor, executive director of the Confederation of the National Health Service (NHS).

"There is deep concern about the level of damage and risk that the ambulance strike in combination with other stoppages can generate. The government and the unions must put an end to all this or patients will end up suffering."

Prime

Rishi Sunak has, however, been inflexible in the face of union demands and has ensured that his government has acted in "a reasonable, responsible and fair manner", with an offer of 4.75% salary increases to health personnel ( less than half of inflation that exceeds 10%).

Meanwhile, public opinion has sided with the nurses (66%) and the ambulance personnel (63%) in their struggle with the Government, in open contrast to the majority rejection of the other strikes that threaten to collapse the country at Christmas, from trains to border agents.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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