More ambulance service workers in England have voted for industrial action, raising the threat of widespread walkouts in the coming weeks.
Unite announced that its members voted by up to 92% to take action, warning that strikes look set to begin ahead of Christmas.
Unite will announce details in the coming days.
The announcement follows similar votes for industrial action by ambulance and other NHS workers in Unison and the GMB.
This strike vote reflects the fact that ambulance staff, dedicated professionals to their core, have been left with no choice but to take a stand for the very future of the NHS itself— Sharon Graham, Unite
Unite said its ambulance service members report that they used to see 10 patients a day discharged safely into hospital, but they can now deal with only three, spending hours at a time sitting outside A&E with patients waiting to be seen.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “We will not sit back and watch as this government runs down our health service.
“This strike vote reflects the fact that ambulance staff, dedicated professionals to their core, have been left with no choice but to take a stand for the very future of the NHS itself and they have Unite’s 100% support.
“Make no mistake, what the government is doing is a deliberate act of national self-harm. This is a political choice that the government knows will put the NHS on life support.
“They know exactly what to do to avert these strikes. It begins with urgently getting around the table with the NHS unions to address the crisis in staff and pay levels.
“There is absolutely no point having make-believe plans for the NHS if you have no staff left.”
Unite members in the ambulance service said that many category one and category two calls are not meeting with a response.
We’re not getting to cardiac arrests quickly enough because of delays— Unite member George Dusher
Unite member George Dusher, who voted yes for action, said: “It’s carnage at the moment – the worst I’ve ever seen it. People are ringing for an ambulance and are then stuck waiting on the floor for 10 hours because we can’t get to them.
“We’re not getting to cardiac arrests quickly enough because of delays.
“I used to see up to 10 patients during a shift, now it’s just three or four because of the delays in hospital admissions.
“Paramedics get into debt to train for this job, but the pay is too low and the stress is too high.
“It used to be that you’d leave half an hour after shift. Now it is one, two or even three hours. It’s too much and people are leaving.”
