As tens of thousands of nurses and ambulance workers go on strike, health officials have warned that the NHS will face an “incredibly challenging and disrupted” week.
Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive of NHS Providers, urged the Government and unions to reach an 11th-hour pay agreement in order to avoid a significant impact on patients.
Yesterday, ministers convened an emergency Cobra committee meeting to discuss how to deal with industrial action affecting the NHS, rail network, and other services.
Downing Street announced that the armed forces would step in to reduce disruption, with 750 military personnel using civilian ambulances.
Although Rishi Sunak insisted that the government was “happy to sit down and talk” with unions, ministers refused to discuss wages.
Ms Cordery told the BBC that heads of trusts: “Understand why staff are choosing to strike, so I think they would urge the Government and the unions to get round the table and discuss pay.
“This is going to be an incredibly challenging and disrupted week, not only because we have the ambulance service coming out on strike across nearly every region but also because we’ve got these sequential strikes.”
So far, the government has maintained its stance on wage increases, claiming that above-inflation increases demanded by trade unions are unaffordable.
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