Health minister Will Quince has warned the public to avoid unecessary car journeys and any other “risky activities” on Wednesday as ambulance drivers stage strike action.
The NHS is set to be hit by major disruption as ambulance workers including paramedics, control room workers and technicians walk out in England and Wales.
Mr Quince also said people avoid contact sport due to disruption – saying he would not go running on icy roads due to the extra risk of an injury from a fall.
“If there is activity that people are undertaking tomorrow, whether it’s – for example – contact sport, they may want to review that,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live. “Would I go running tomorrow if it was still icy? No I wouldn’t, because that would encompass additional risk.”
Mr Quince urged the public to avoid anything risky on Wednesday, telling BBC Breakfast: “Where people are planning any risky activity, I would strongly encourage them not to do so because there will be disruption on the day.”
But No 10 would not be drawn on what constituted “risky activity”. Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson told reporters: “I’m not going to get into a list.”
“But the key thing is for anybody that does have an emergency situation or a life-threatening situation that they continue to call 999,” said Mr Quince.
Later on BBC Radio 4, he also said that anyone with chest pains on Wednesday should still call 999.
However, NHS officials are said to fear that some people suffering from heart attacks or strokes at home may not be able to get an ambulance at home when staff strike on Wednesday.
Health secretary Steve Barclay will meet with union officials on Tuesday to insist that both category 1 calls, the most immediate life-threatening cases, and category 2 calls – including heart attacks and strokes – are answered.
Mr Quince said he and Mr Barclay would stress with union bosses that the government’s “expectation” is for both category 1 and category 2 emergency calls are covered as part of an agreed minimum service.
“My call to the unions … is that category 1 and category 2 calls – which make up around 50 per cent of all calls to the ambulance service – should be covered as part of derogations [exemptions to the strike],” he told Sky News.
“If you have chest pains, call 999 and the expectation is … I don’t think that there is any paramedic, ambulance technician, anyone working in our NHS, whether they’re on a picket line or not, that would not respond to a 999 call where somebody has chest pains and there is a threat of a heart attack,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Some category 2 calls could be treated differently since patients are more likely to be safer if at home, while someone lying in the street could be more vulnerable, a Unison union source told The Independent.
An ambulance source in the West Midlands where Unite workers are striking told The Independent they had agreed with West Midlands Ambulance that only category one, and “high acuity” category two will be attended – meaning patients who have suffered falls won’t be seen by ambulance staff.
Meanwhile, Mr Quince also suggested that striking nurses, ambulance drivers and paramedics should wait until April 2023 for the next independent pay review. “We look forward to the next pay review in April,” Mr Quince told Sky News.
During the strike, the military will not drive ambulances on blue lights for the most serious calls but are expected to provide support on other calls.
The junior minister said that armed forces personnel would play a key role but would not be able to “break the law” when covering for ambulance workers.
