Derbyshire Ambulance staff join strike action in Chesterfield

Paramedics and support staff have walked out for a second time this winter, in the dispute over pay.

Railway workers in the RMT and ASLEF have also been out on the picket line this week and over the next two weeks NHS staff - first ambulance staff and then nurses – will be taking to the picket line.

The government has warned patients would see disruption today as 20,000 paramedics, emergency care assistants, call handlers and other ambulance staff have formed picket lines in England and Wales.

East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) workers, including Derbyshire Ambulance Service have joined the national strike action. EMAS said the situation was "immensely challenging".

Currently, two pickets are held in Derbyshire – at the Ambulance station on Old Road in Ashgate and Heath Ambulance Station on Heath Road in Chesterfield.

Kerry Vaughan, one of the GMB stewards attending a picket line at Old Road said: “We are hoping the government will give us a pay rise or even sit down and have talks with us.”

As the strikes go on, the NHS says people should use services "wisely" and only call 999 in a life-threatening emergency. While all category one emergency calls will get an ambulance, the response to category two will be affected

It is predicted the impact of today’s strike will be worse than when ambulance workers walked out across the country before Christmas as call handlers have joined the picket lines this time.