Six More Ambulance Strike Dates Being Considered After Failed Talks

The GMB union will meet ambulance representatives on Monday (January 16) to discuss up to six more strike dates.

It comes after talks with Health Secretary Stephen Barclay failed to reach an agreement earlier this week.

On Wednesday, about 25,000 ambulance workers across England and Wales went on strike in a dispute with the government over pay.

Staggered walkouts by paramedics, call handlers, drivers and technicians from the Unison and GMB unions took place over a 24-hour period.

NHS England warned some people would have to make their own way to hospital, while members of the armed forces and private providers were once again drafted in to help cover services — as was the case during the first strike in December.

Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, warned walkouts can lead to "pent-up demand" in the days afterwards.

More strikes are scheduled, with nurses due to walk out next Wednesday and Thursday, and another ambulance strike the week after, on 23 January.

Despite no deal being reached following the talks with Mr Barclay on Monday, the health secretary did agree to look into a suggestion to backdate next year's NHS pay deal to this January.

However, it is understood representatives of the GMB union are set to meet again next week to discuss whether strike action by ambulance workers should escalate.

It comes as new NHS England figures show average ambulance response times in England last month were the longest on record.

In December, the average response time for ambulances dealing with the most urgent incidents — defined as calls from people with life-threatening illnesses or injuries — was 10 minutes and 57 seconds. The target is is seven minutes.