NHS bosses tell hospitals to discharge as many patients as possible ahead of ‘extreme disruption’ caused by ambulance crew strikes next week
- Ambulance staff are due to walk out for two days on December 21 and 28
- Employers offered staff a pay rise of 4.75 per cent with minimum bump of $1,400
- Ahead of strike, hospitals have been warned to discharge patients swiftly
Hospitals have been urged to free up beds by discharging as many patients as possible ahead of planned industrial action by ambulance crews.
Staff in England are due to walk out for two days on December 21 and 28 amid an ongoing pay dispute.
Employers have offered staff a pay rise of 4.75 per cent with a minimum bump of $1,400, but unions are demanding a pay rise which matches or exceeds inflation.
Sir David Sloman, NHS England’s chief operating officer, warned of ‘extensive disruption’ during what would be ‘a very challenging period’.
In a letter to hospital bosses, NHS chiefs are calling for patients to be swiftly moved out of emergency departments once they’ve been treated to ensure paramedics can get back on the road as quick as possible.
Hospitals have been urged to free up beds by discharging as many patients as possible ahead of planned industrial action by ambulance crews
Sir David Sloman, NHS England’s chief operating officer, warned of ‘extensive disruption’ during what would be ‘a very challenging period’
Ideally, the measures will ensure any patient is handed over from paramedics to A&E in less than 15 minutes.
Ambulance staff demand pay rise above inflation
Employers have offered staff a pay rise of 4.75 per cent with a minimum bump of $1,400, but unions are demanding a pay rise which matches or exceeds inflation.
It’s understood they’re arguing for a rise of about 19 per cent – which some MPs are calling unreasonable.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says he is willing to sit down for talks, but wants to ensure he’s ‘fair, reasonable’ and aligned with the advice of an independent pay body about what a fair rise would be.
NHS data on Thursday showed ambulance handover delays at hospitals in England had hit a new high, with one in six patients last week waiting more than a hour to be passed to A&E teams.
Just over one in three had to wait at least 30 minutes. The numbers are higher than at any point in recent winters.
Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said discharging patients from hospitals where possible ahead of NHS strikes will be ‘difficult’.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘It’s going to be really difficult to achieve.
‘We always want it to be able to allow ambulances to return back to the frontline as quickly as possible. We’ve been struggling to do this for the last three years.
‘To give you an idea of how big the problem is, in the last week, three quarters of emergency departments are holding ambulances with handover delays every day. And this is because our emergency departments are full.’
NHS Providers’ interim chief executive Saffron Cordery said: ‘Trust and system leaders are being asked by NHS England to focus on reducing handover delays and maximising capacity in urgent and emergency care.
‘But given the scale of operational pressures on providers now including very high bed occupancy levels, rising flu admissions, ongoing Covid-19 pressures, record staff absences and increasing A&E attendances, this will be incredibly difficult to implement.’
She added: ‘We understand why ambulance staff have voted for industrial action but it’s vital that the Government and unions talk urgently to find a way to prevent this and further strikes from happening.’
Setting out ‘three essential actions’ to ‘ensure the safety of patients and staff’, the letter asked for confirmation of ‘system-level operational plans’ for ambulance strike days with NHS England regional teams by a deadline of 4pm on December 19.
The plans would allow for additional support to be considered and arranged, it said.
The Police Federation has already suggested police officers may be called upon to drive ambulances.
On Friday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said while ‘the door is always open to talks’ the Government was determined to stick to the recommendations of the independent pay review body.
NHS data on Thursday showed ambulance handover delays at hospitals in England had hit a new high, with one in six patients last week waiting more than a hour to be passed to A&E teams
‘We want to be fair, reasonable and constructive, that’s why we accepted the recommendations of an independent pay body about what fair pay would be,’ he said.
It comes after nurses walked off the job on Thursday amid a similar ongoing pay dispute.
Thursday’s strike involved around a quarter of hospitals and community teams in England, all trusts in Northern Ireland and all but one health board in Wales.
Despite the postponed appointments, polling showed that the majority of the public were in favour of strike action by nurses.
Unions have agreed nationally to provide ‘life and limb’ cover for the twin strike days this Wednesday and on December 28.
This involves responding to life-threatening category one calls, such as when a patient’s heart has stopped.
But there is no national agreement on whether staff will respond to less urgent calls, such as heart attacks, strokes and women in late stages of labour. These exemptions, or derogations, are being agreed on a local basis but most are yet to be finalised. It makes the deployment of military drivers more difficult.
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