Rishi Sunak and Steve Barclay are prolonging NHS strikes by refusing to talk about pay with struggling staff, unions warn.
As ambulance workers walked out on Wednesday, No10 was again accused of blocking any progress. Unite said the Government could have ended strikes but “chose not to”.
Furious ambulance crews and unions last night accused Health Secretary Steve Barclay of insulting dedicated staff after he claimed they deliberately set out to harm patients by going on strike.
Exhausted workers said 12 years of Tory NHS cuts have put sick people at risk on a daily basis and part of the reason for their first walkout in more than 30 years yesterday was to try to save the ailing service from complete destruction.
They are also demanding a pay rise amid soaring inflation but Mr Barclay sparked outrage by again refusing to even discuss wages at last-ditch talks on Tuesday night, a snub he also delivered to nurses before their strikes.
The minister said: “Ambulance unions have made a conscious choice to inflict harm on patients.”
But Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said that was “a blatant lie”.
And she accused Mr Barclay and Rishi Sunak of washing their hands of the industrial action instead of getting round the table for talks that could have ended the dispute earlier this year.
Speaking from a picket line in Coventry, Ms Graham said: “The Government has had months to intervene.
"They chose not to. They have abdicated all responsibility. They’re effectively saying this has got nothing to do with us. And the strikers are wrong.
“It makes it a total mockery of what NHS workers have done to protect the country over Covid, the time spent clapping for our workers.
“When the worst of Covid was over, these workers thought they would be treated with respect, but the Government told them, ‘Thanks for that, but the profiteering companies will get our respect, not you. You’re not even worth a pay rise.’ That is how little they think of them.
“We are doing everything we can to make sure people don’t suffer But people are already dying. Strikers are trying to save the service.”
Up to 10,000 ambulance workers in the unions GMB, Unison and Unite walked out at eight of the 11 services in England and Wales. The trusts involved declared critical incidents, amid fears serious disruption will last weeks.
The GMB’s Rachel Harrison hit back at Mr Barclay’s claim they were deliberately harming patients. She said: “Ambulance workers are seething at such a crude, insulting attempt to divert attention from the Government’s continued chaos in the NHS.”
Unison general secretary Christina McAnea added: “If anyone is responsible for things that happen it is the Government who have steadfastly refused to talk to us about anything related to pay.”
GMB national secretary Rachel Harrison said: “Instead of issuing more extreme statements that offend NHS staff and the public, the Government needs to grow up and get round the table. It’s time to talk pay now.”
No10 had urged people not to run or play football in case they needed an ambulance during the strike.
But with 3,000 vacancies in the service, Ms Graham said that advice should be provided “365 days a year”.
And striking paramedic Ben Clark, who works at South West Ambulance Service, added: “Lives have been at risk for the last six, seven years. That is austerity. It’s a political choice.
“The waits outside hospital are now so much we’re doing less work than ever, because we’re stuck with one patient for five, six, 10 hours whilst people wait, helpless, in the community.”
NHS Confederation chief executive Matthew Taylor said “even if there were no strikes we would still have a workforce crisis in the NHS”.
Mr Barclay came under further fire for claiming unions agreeing local deals with the NHS for 999 staff cover had made contingency planning “almost impossible”.
Ms McAnea said: “It is utter fabrication. He knows full well we have been negotiating for the last two or three weeks where our members are taking strike action to put in place contingency plans.
“To suggest anything else is just disgraceful fear mongering.”
Ms Graham added: “The unions negotiated critical cover, including 999 calls, at a local level with hosts of NHS trusts. That is how it is done.
“Stephen Barclay obviously doesn’t understand how these issues are dealt with in the NHS. That is an embarrassment for him and the Government. He has now lost all credibility.”
The military was drafted in to help crew ambulances, but it appears the public were heeding calls to only call 999 in life-threatening situations as demand fell slightly yesterday.
However, medics fear patient harm may emerge in the coming days involving those who avoided calling for help.
