The Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE) has renewed its call for the Government and unions to get round the table again and work together urgently to resolve the industrial action which has proved to be adding significant further, unnecessary pressures to an urgent and emergency care system that is facing unparalleled challenges.
AACE Managing Director Martin Flaherty OBE QAM said:
“Ambulance leaders are clear that it is now vital that negotiations are successfully concluded between the Government and unions to prevent ongoing industrial action, which ultimately leads to a reduction in the quality of NHS patient care and more unnecessary harm to patients.
“But as with all industrial disputes there is always a route to resolution, however difficult that path may seem.
“AACE has always been clear that the dispute is not only about pay but is also about the working conditions of our staff. The ambulance sector no longer has sufficient resourcing to manage its demand and is also severely hampered by hospital handover delays. We have seen some recent improvements in handover delays – especially during the days on which strike action has taken place – which proves that it can be done and we would urge health systems to take the learning from those improvements and ensure they are applied daily going forward. In short, we can and must eradicate these unnecessary handover delays at hospital emergency departments if we are to prevent further deaths and serious harm coming to patients.
“We are also clear that more investment in capacity is required urgently to ensure that ambulance services can consistently deliver the care that patients deserve. We continue to work with NHS England to ensure ambulance services are right-sized to meet demand as this will go some way towards correcting the immediate gap in resources faced by the NHS ambulance sector.
“But what we need now, and would strongly advocate, is for the Government and unions to contemplate the long-term harm that ongoing disruption will cause to the health and wellbeing of patients and the public, and to arrive at a negotiated agreement that is suitable to both sides as soon as possible.”
