For operational use only, not for publication
When: Wednesday 21 December 2022, noon til midnight
Where: Five ambulance services in England
Who: Emergency response crews
Ambulance staff working for five services in England – London, Yorkshire, North West, North East and South West – will be taking part in industrial action tomorrow (Wednesday) over pay and staffing.
Paramedics, emergency care assistants, ambulance technicians and other 999 crew members are among those who will be on picket lines from midday to midnight.
UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea will be joining workers on strike in London and the union’s head of health Sara Gorton will be on picket lines in the North West. Other senior people at UNISON will be at key picket lines in the regions where strikes are taking place.
The walkout coincides with action being taken by two other unions – GMB and Unite – at several ambulance services.
In addition, a strike involving nurses, porters, healthcare assistants, cleaners and other NHS workers at two Liverpool hospitals is also happening tomorrow.
These are being staged at the Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital and the Royal Liverpool University Hospital from 7.30am on Wednesday 21 December and will end 24 hours later.
Key picket lines include (main pickets highlighted in bold):
London
Waterloo: 220 Waterloo Road, London SE1 8SD
Deptford: 1 New Cross Road, London SE14 5DS
Greenwich: 392 Shooters Hill Road, London SE18 4LP
Edmonton: Windmill Road, London N18 1NJ
Romford: Oldchurch Road, Romford, Essex RM7 0AD
Islington: 88 Brewery Road, London N7 9NT
West Ham: Howards Road, Plaistow, London E13 8AZ
Newham: Wellington Road, London E6 2RG
Fulham:150 Seagrave Road, London SW6 1RX
Putney: 48 West Hill, London SW18 1RX
North West
Manchester: Manchester Ambulance Station (next to blood donor centre), Plymouth Grove, Manchester M13 9LL
Liverpool: Royal Liverpool University Hospital, Prescot Street, Liverpool L7 8XP
Liverpool: Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, Thomas Drive, Liverpool L14 3PE
Blackpool: Blackpool Ambulance Station, Devonshire Road, Blackpool FY3 8AY (temporary hub in an old hospital)
Carlisle: North West Ambulance Service, Carlisle Salkeld Hall, Infirmary Street, Carlisle CA2 7AN
Yorkshire & Humberside
Sheffield: Longley Ambulance Station, 9 Crowder Road, Sheffield S5 7PJ
Hull: Sutton Fields Ambulance Station, Copenhagen Way, Hull HU7 0XY
York: York Ambulance Station, Turner Close, Hemsworth YO31 9FD
Leeds: Leeds Ambulance Station, Flax Place, Leeds LS9 8HF
North East
Gateshead: Gateshead Ambulance Station, Old Durham Road, Gateshead NE9 6SF
Ashington: Ashington Ambulance Station, Armstrong Way, North Seaton Industrial Estate, Ashington NE63 0YB
Chester-Le-Street: Chester-Le-Street Ambulance Station, Front Street, Chester-Le-Street DH3 3AT
Middlesbrough:Middlesbrough Ambulance Station, the Fulcrum Centre, Acklam Road, Middlesbrough MTS5 4EQ
Redcar: Redcar Ambulance Station, Trunk Road, Redcar TS10 5BW
South West
Gloucester: Commerce Road, Staverton, Gloucester GL2 9QJ
Bristol: 400 North Bristol Park, Filton BS34 7QH
Taunton: Lisieux Way, Taunton TA1 2LB
Barnstaple: Lauder Lane, Roundswell Business Park, Barnstaple EX31 3TA
Bournemouth: 38 Portchester Road, Bournemouth BH8 8JY
Redruth: Cambourne and Redruth Community Hospital, Barncoose Terrace, Redruth, Cornwall TR15 3ER
Notes to editors:
– UNISON spokespeople will be available for interview:general secretary Christina McAnea (Waterloo Road in London and various locations around the capital); head of health Sara Gorton (Liverpool and Manchester); deputy head of health Helga Pile (Bournemouth); assistant general secretary Jon Richards (Gloucester).
– To speak to a striking ambulance worker, please speak to either the national media team or to one of our regional media colleagues.
– Unite is taking action in three ambulance services (North West, North East and West Midlands) from midnight to noon, and the GMB in eight in England (North East, North West, Yorkshire, South Central, South East Coast, South West, East Midlands, West Midlands) and the Welsh Ambulance Service.
– UNISON is to re-ballot ambulance workers at five ambulance services in England (South East Coast, South Central, East of England, West Midlands and East Midlands) and the Welsh Ambulance Service in the new year.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union and the largest union in the NHS and in the ambulance sector, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.
Media contacts:
National and London: Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk, Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk, Fatima Ayad M: 07508 080383 E: f.ayad@unison.co.uk
London: Emma Davey M: 07432 733187 E: e.davey@unison.co.uk
North West: Sam Doherty M: 07432 549759 E: s.doherty@unison.co.uk
Yorkshire: Chris Birks M: 07870 407670 E: c.birks@unison.co.uk
North East: Paul Riley M: 07903 807641 E: p.riley@unison.co.uk
South West: James Rodie M: 07904 415895 E: j.rodie@unison.co.uk