The prospect of strikes in the Scottish Ambulance Service will cause fear and anxiety among patients already experiencing hefty waiting times for crews to take them to hospital. And while hard-working ambulance staff have pledged to ensure there is emergency cover for those whose life is at risk, there is no doubt that people could die waiting for assistance.
The Record has been warning for more than a year of the stresses facing ambulance workers and how queues at hospitals are affecting waiting times and care. Paramedics and technicians waiting for hours outside hospitals to hand over patients take ambulances off the road and those most in need of their assistance wait longer than is safe.
Against this background, these stressed workers, offered below-inflation pay rises while struggling to pay bills, have been left with little choice other than to take decisive action. But there is no doubt that a strike, however justified, will lead to a further drop in patient care and that simply cannot be allowed to happen.
The Scottish Government must move quickly to try to reach a settlement –otherwise it faces the prospect of calling in the Army to take patients to hospital this winter. A big portion of responsibility for this mess must be laid at the Conservative Government’s door. Its appalling handling of the UK economy sparked the current inflation crisis which is the root cause of this industrial strife.
But the SNP Government cannot hide behind the big bad Tories mantra. It needs to get unions onside to avoid a winter of discontent and that starts with reopening negotiations.
The clock is now ticking towards strikes and other forms of industrial action so Health Secretary Humza Yousaf needs to take swift action. It is one of those rare instances in politics where lives really are on the line.
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