Ambulance staff in Liverpool joined forces with crews across England to stage another day of industrial action - as some workers say they would "get more money working at Costa coffee".
Paramedics, emergency care assistants, ambulance technicians, other 999 crew members, call handlers and control room staff from the North West Ambulance Service are picketing today, February 10, taking the total number of strike days to four so far.
UNISON union reps say further strikes could be on the horizon if an agreement cannot be reached with the Government.
READ MORE: All strike dates you need to know about in February
Union rep Paddy Hayes said: "For 12 years we had a pay freeze with nothing from the Government, which happens to have been in power for 12 years. Now is the time that everything has come to a head and we need to ask for fair pay.
"All we are asking for is fair pay for the work we do. We hold a lot of responsibility in looking after the public, who have shown us tremendous support since the strikes started. We are prepared to go on as long as it takes and, bringing this Government back to the negotiating table, we're hoping that some of them see sense."
New figures from NHS England suggest 137,000 appointments have been cancelled since the strikes began last December. UNISON has warned that as many as 250,000 patients could be affected by late spring if the dispute continues.
The union's head of health, Sara Gorton, accused PM Rishi Sunak of "condemning (the public) to months of unnecessary disruption" by refusing to negotiate with the strikers, who are asking for a pay rise, better working conditions and staff retention.
Sue Flatley, of Liverpool's patient transport division, said: “You get more money for working at Costa Coffee. People feel demoralised - more and more of us just want a pay raise to match inflation.
“I wouldn’t do any other job, we just don’t feel appreciated.”
Liz Jones said: "We want better conditions, we want better pay. Everybody's struggling. Everything is going up except our wages. At the end of the month, you don't have anything left. You end up not knowing how to live."
Billy Dilboy said: “Everyone has had enough of all the cut-backs, MPs getting everything and us getting nothing. The pressures we're under are just scandalous. So we're out striking not because we want to, but something needs to be done.
"It's constant work, especially for A&E staff. Patients queue for hours on the corridors. People go for hours waiting for an ambulance. I was called to a suspected heart attack and they were told it was a two-hour wait for an ambulance.
"People are leaving in their droves. There's two people leaving this week because they've had enough, and that's just on our side. There's paramedics leaving left, right and centre. They're getting to jobs and having to apologise to people for being so late.
"I think the NHS is in distress mode, with everything that's happening. People are still under the impression if they phone an ambulance they'll get seen quickly. That's no longer the case."
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