AMBULANCE workers taking industrial action are not putting lives at risk - the Government are doing that every day by underfunding the NHS, claims one striking paramedic.

Around 20,000 ambulance workers, including paramedics, emergency call handlers and technicians took part in strike action across England and Wales on Wednesday (January 11).

Workers were out on the picket line from 7am until 7pm in a dispute with the Government over pay and working conditions.

Unison and Unite members will also take further action on Monday, January 23 as further strike dates are announced.

The unions, which represent ambulance staff, nurses, porters, healthcare assistants, physiotherapists and other NHS workers in England, have made clear they will not discuss next year until their demands for this year are met.

Paul Turner, deputy branch secretary for the GMB union covering Barrow and Cumbria, said the NHS is ‘massively under resourced’ and is calling for a general election.

He said: “The strikes are going very well, we’re receiving a lot of public support. We’re not going to settle on one strike a month. We need improvements in the NHS – the Government are not doing anything.

“There’s two main reasons why we’re doing this. Ambulance services can’t get to patients in a timely fashion. We don’t have the resources or the funding to deliver a high quality of care. We’re massively under resourced. A recent GMB survey found that our members believe patients are dying because we can’t get to them quick enough and we can’t deliver the care patients need.

“The second reason is that we have had a real-terms pay cut for over ten years now and members can’t afford it. This isn’t just a paramedic strike, it’s an ambulance workers strike and some members are on £12 an hour – McDonald’s staff are paid more.

“No one likes strike action, but something has to change. Every day people can be waiting as much as 12 to 18 hours for ambulances, and we don’t have enough ambulances to respond to the hundreds of calls.”

Mr Turner said the Government is risking patient’s life every day by underfunding the NHS.

He said: “When people think strikes are causing a risk to life, they need to realise that the Government are doing that every single day.

“We need a general election to see where we go in the future. I don’t care who is in power as long as they’re sorting out the NHS.

“The Government has got to make a reasonable offer in relation to pay. Ambulance workers are unable to pay their bills. And people don’t last in the service anymore, the demands of the job means staff retention is very difficult.

“Staff really are struggling and the NHS is on its knees. This is about sorting out the NHS and improving working conditions.”