London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Aug 25, 2025

London braces for 12-hour ambulance strike on already-stretched service

London braces for 12-hour ambulance strike on already-stretched service

Eleventh-hour talks to avert the industrial action have failed

Ambulance workers across London are set to strike on Wednesday - with the action expected to cause major disruption to the capital’s already-stretched NHS services.

Unison members at London Ambulance Service (LAS) will walk out along with thousands of ambulance workers and paramedics across the country, after talks between the Government and unions failed to address a dispute over pay.

The action will take place from midday to midnight, but LAS warns it is likely to affect services all day Wednesday and into the following days.

It comes as several ambulance and hospital trusts across the country have declared critical incidents as a result of “sustained” and “unprecedented” pressure on services, and as LAS reports record numbers of emergency calls.

Health minister Will Quince has urged people to stay safe during Wednesday’s strike by avoiding “risky” activities.

LAS has warned that ill Londoners “are unlikely to get an ambulance” during the action unless they are at risk of dying, and advises those without a life-threatening condition to make their own way to hospital on Wednesday.

London health trusts said expectant mothers who go into labour during the strike should also make their own way to hospital as there will be “no guarantee” paramedics will be able to reach them at home.



Mr Quince told BBC Breakfast on Tuesday: “Where people are planning any risky activity, I would strongly encourage them not to do so because there will be disruption on the day.

“But the key thing is for anybody that does have an emergency situation or a life-threatening situation that they continue to call 999 as they would have done previously, and for any other situation, NHS 111 or NHS 111 online.”

While life-threatening Category 1 conditions such as cardiac arrests and other most serious cases are expected to be covered, there is uncertainty over Category 2 calls, which include some heart attacks and strokes.

Barts Health NHS is expecting its services to face unprecedented pressures from Tuesday until Thursday due to the walkout.

The Trust, which runs five hospitals in east London including The Royal London in Whitechapel, said in a statement: “Our hospitals will effectively be running at the highest alert level for three days either side of the LAS action.”

Members of three unions, GMB, Unison and Unite, which represent around 25,000 ambulance workers, are walking out in the coordinated strike on Wednesday.

The action will involve ambulance worker, paramedics, call handlers and emergency care assistants in 10 out of 11 NHS trusts in England and Wales - including LAS.

999 call handlers will not be striking, LAS confirmed.


Outside the Accident and Emergency department at St Thomas’s hospital, central London

Around 600 members of the Army, Navy and RAF from across the country have been drafted in to help during the walkouts, some of whom have never driven ambulances before.

Ambulance services in England and Wales are struggling to hit performance targets and are reporting record-long delays.

Speaking of the pressure being felt by staff, the head of LAS said on Tuesday that some London paramedics are spending their entire shift taking care of patients who are waiting to be discharged into A&E.

The NHS said the delays have arisen as hospitals are struggling to discharge patients and free up capacity in A&E, with many beds occupied by patients in need of adult social care who have nowhere else to go.

Dr John Martin, chief paramedic at the LAS, told the Health and Social Care Committee that handover delays were having a devastating impact on morale amongst paramedics.

He warned an increasing number of paramedics were becoming “really frustrated” at having to spend hours waiting to hand patients over to emergency departments, rather than responding to calls.

Wednesday’s strike comes after NHS nurses walked out across the country on Tuesday, on their second day of action this month.

With inflation hitting 10.7 per cent in November, health unions are demanding pay rises to help workers’ salaries keep up with soaring prices.

But as nurses staged their walkout and the ambulance worker strike loomed, Rishi Sunak on Tuesday refused to give any ground on NHS pay.

The Royal College of Nursing is demanding 19 per cent, but the Prime Minister has insisted that he will not reopen the independent pay review process which resulted in an award of 4.5 per cent this year.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
Nurse who raped woman continued working for a year despite police alert
Drought forces closures of England’s canal routes, canceling boat holidays
Sweet tooth scents: food-inspired perfumes surge as weight-loss drugs suppress appetites
Experts warn Britain dangerously reliant on imported food
Family of Notting Hill Carnival murder victim call event unmanageable
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
×