Fears ambulance strikes will put lives at risk after unions refuse to reveal which areas will walkout tomorrow
GRANT Shapps has said that he is “concerned” that ambulance strikes tomorrow will put lives at risk.
Nurses and ambulance staff will strike together for the first time on February 6 in the biggest NHS walkout yet.
It has come not long after the country is brought to a halt by industrial action disrupting trains, schools and the civil service.
The Business Secretary said that ambulance strikers refusing to reveal which areas will walkout has turned the situation into a “postcode lottery”.
He added: “Unfortunately the ambulance unions have refused to provide information, which leaves the army in a very difficult position.
“It is a postcode lottery when it comes to you having a heart attack or a stroke.”
Shapps also warned that the lowest paid like cleaners and hospital staff, who can’t work from home are being hit hardest by train strikes.
More than 88,000 appointments across the NHS have been postponed in England due to strike action in recent weeks, health leaders have warned.
Unions are fighting for their members in disputes over wages and working conditions amid the cost of living crisis, with pay offers still below inflation, which remains over 10 per cent.
Thousands of nurses formed picket lines back in January but their next walkout will align with a fresh GMB ambulance strike.
The nurses’ action will also expand to cover 77 NHS trusts.
The winter of unrest showed little sign of abating with four new ambulance strikes on the cards, starting tomorrow.
The other dates for ambulance strikes are February 20 and March 6 and 20.
Shapps was appointed business secretary by Rishi Sunak in October last year.
He previously served as transport secretary from 2019 to 2022 under Boris Johnson’s government, but he was sacked when Liz Truss became prime minister in September last year
Despite this, Shapps briefly served as Truss’s home secretary in her final days as PM.