British Troops to Cover for Striking Ambulance Drivers and Border Staff

Ambulances at St Thomas' Hospital in London, England, on Jan. 7, 2022. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Hundreds of British troops will be deployed to cover for ambulance drivers and border staff as ministers seek to mitigate disruptions caused by industrial action.

Arrangements have been made for 1,200 members of the armed forces to plug staffing gaps in the health service and the Border Force during strikes over the Christmas and New Year period, the Cabinet Office announced on Dec. 17.

Some 600 military personnel will be working as ambulance drivers and a further 150 will be providing logistical support, as ambulance crews in England are due to walk out for two days on Dec. 21 and 28 in a row over pay.

Members of the armed forces will also join more than 1,000 civil servants to cover for striking Border Force staff, as members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union walk out for eight days from Dec. 23 until New Year’s Eve.

They will help “minimise disruption for passengers” by checking documents and passports.

The Cabinet Office will publish a new “resilience framework” on Dec. 19, bringing together all levels of government, as well as the private sector, charities, and the public to bolster the UK’s preparedness for industrial action.

But Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden said the government “is not going to be able to mitigate away all of the impact of these strikes.”

“The whole government effort is, of course, to try and minimise those impacts. But if this ambulance strike in particular goes ahead, there will be significant impacts and significant disruption,” he told The Telegraph.

“Of course, the government is working hard to ensure that that is minimised. But you can’t call a strike in this area and think that it’s not going to have an impact. And it will have an impact.”

‘Deeply Regrettable’

The ambulance crew strikes, coordinated by the GMB, Unison, and Unite unions, is expected to affect nine ambulance trusts in England on Dec. 21 and eight on Dec. 28.

It comes after nurses staged their biggest-ever strike in the history of the National Health Service (NHS).

The Unite union accused ministers of “hollowing out” the NHS, insisting those taking industrial action are in fact “trying to save the service.”

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said the unions’ decision to stage further industrial action is “deeply regrettable.”

Health Secretary Steve Barclay during a visit to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London, as nurses at other hospitals in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland take industrial action over pay, on Dec. 15, 2022. Stefan Rousseau/PA Media

He said: “My number one priority is to keep patients as safe as possible and we are stepping up preparations across government and the NHS, including making best use of the armed forces, volunteers, and freeing up capacity to mitigate disruption and ensure safe staffing levels.”

The Police Federation has already suggested police officers may be called upon to drive ambulances.

Barclay said he had “listened to unions” and remains “open to further discussions” but the unions’ demands are “not affordable in the economic circumstances.”

The government said the NHS will enact “tried and tested” plans to mitigate risks to patient safety and manage disruption, while trusts will work with unions to agree on a safe level of cover.

Mitigation Plans

In a joint letter to NHS trusts and integrated care boards (ICBs), NHS England’s chief operating officer Sir David Sloman, national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis, and chief nursing officer Dame Ruth May warned of “extensive disruption” during what would be “a very challenging period.”

The letter added: “Thank you for everything you have been doing to prepare to ensure that patients are kept as safe as possible and that services are maintained as effectively as possible over what will be a very challenging period.

“Derogation discussions with trade unions are ongoing at a local level, therefore the impact upon services will vary across different ambulance services, but extensive disruption is expected.”

The health chiefs urged hospitals to free up a maximum number of beds by safely discharging patients in advance of the ambulance crews’ strikes.

Measures should also be put in place to ensure ambulance patient handovers are kept to no more than 15 minutes, they said.

But Dr. Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, warned this will be a challenge.

While he agrees with the “principles” in the letter, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the demands will be “really difficult” to achieve.

NHS Providers’ interim chief executive Saffron Cordery said in response to the letter: “Trust and system leaders are being asked by NHS England to focus on reducing handover delays and maximising capacity in urgent and emergency care.

“But given the scale of operational pressures on providers now including very high bed occupancy levels, rising flu admissions, ongoing COVID-19 pressures, record staff absences, and increasing A&E attendances, this will be incredibly difficult to implement.”

She added: “We understand why ambulance staff have voted for industrial action but it’s vital that the government and unions talk urgently to find a way to prevent this and further strikes from happening.”

PA Media contributed to this report.