PICKET lines were mounted outside hundreds of ambulance stations across the country on Monday as 23,000 Unison, Unite and GMB paramedics and other ambulance workers went on 24-hour-strike.
At Kenton ambulance station in Kingsbury, northwest London on Monday evening there was a lively picket with food and a brazier.
Mary McNeil, paramedic and Unison member, told News Line: ‘The government will not back down because they don’t have anything in common with the ordinary people, which is us on the picket line.
‘The Prime Minister is richer than the king of England.
‘The reason why we are on strike is because people are dying while waiting for an ambulance to arrive or because they are stuck on a ramp outside a hospital – and that is in all the hospitals all across the UK – London is not the worst.
‘The government says we are killing people by doing this strike, but what they are not honest about is the number of people who are dying because of the systematic underfunding of the NHS over 25 years.
‘I came into the ambulance service 10 years ago and since then they have shut Central Middlesex and Hammersmith A&Es in this area. They have not been replaced anywhere.
‘The Urgent Care Unit in Northwick Park Hospital is run by Greenbrooks, a private company – that is just one example of privatisation.
‘They shut the walk-in centres in Chaplin Road, Wembley and Alexandra Road in Pinner – now they are overflow centres for the GPs as they are destroying our GP surgeries as well.
‘The writing is on the wall. We are heading towards privatisation.
‘I would support a general strike – we should be doing what the French are doing.’
On the picket line at Pinner ambulance station in north west London, Unison rep Thomas Deronde told News Line: ‘It’s very sad that we have to go on a picket line. It was a very hard decision.
‘We are in a moral dilemma not to go to patients but we are striking for the long term to get better care for patients, because of the lack of staff and poor pay and working conditions.
‘The public are supporting us, showing their appreciation at our picket line and cars tooting.
‘The army were here during the last strike but now our picket line has taken over and the army are having to come straight from barracks.’
Another striker said: ‘The Marines from Plymouth were in our ambulance station during the last strike. They had all their annual leave cancelled.’
There was music playing and a brazier blazing on the lively picket line of two or three dozen Unison members all day at Deptford Ambulance Station on the busy Old Kent Road in south east London, with almost every car, bus and lorry that passed greeting the strikers with a blast of their horn.
Unison member Susan Palmer told News Line: ‘We’ve had fantastic support all day. For me personally, this is more about the state of the NHS today. We are failing the public and patients are dying. We need to save the NHS.
‘We have to make a stand or nothing will improve and it will get worse.’
Pointing to the huge cacophony of noisy support from the passing vehicles, Susan continued: ‘I hope the government is listening, but all they are trying to do is slate us to the press. We’ve got to win this battle. I would support a general strike.’
Striker Amira Ahmed said: ‘It’s been great today, really lively all day and members of the public coming up and telling us we’re doing an amazing job. It’s been constant. We are part of a great big battle to save the NHS.’
Striker Laurinda Barbosa told News Line: ‘Nothing changes if nothing changes. What I mean by that is, if they don’t sort this out and come to an acceptable deal then we will keep on fighting.
‘We are fighting for the NHS and we are fighting to win.’
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