Großbritannien

[Schneemann]

Großbritannien wird derzeit von einer massiven Streikwelle heimgesucht, auch im Gesundheitswesen. Und es kommt eigentlich alles zusammen: Brexit, Corona-Nachwirkungen, Inflation (über 10%), steigende Mieten und Energiekosten - so wie überall -, ein recht jämmerliches Sozialsystem und ein chronisch unterversorgter und kaputtgesparter NHS (dieser wird über eine jährlich festgelegte Verfügungssumme bedient und nicht über Beiträge wie in Deutschland). Und in der Folge streiken nun die total überlasteten Gesundheitsdienste - übrigens hat erstmals seit seiner Gründung vor 106 Jahren sich auch der RCN (Royal College of Nursing - quasi die Gewerkschaft des Pflegepersonals) an den Streiks beteiligt. Mit entsprechenden Folgen.

Es ist eine prekäre Mischung, die hier zusammenkommt - und man hätte es sehen können, aber gerade die Tories, die seit 2010 regiert hatten, haben die Augen verschlossen...

Ambulance strike: Warning of very challenging days ahead

Hospitals were quieter than normal during Wednesday's ambulance strikes, but Thursday is likely to be "very challenging" with lots of patients turning up, health bosses say.

Only the most serious 999 calls were responded to. But there was no evidence of people going to A&E in taxis or their own cars, NHS Providers told the BBC. Thousands of paramedics, call handlers and technicians took action in England and Wales on Wednesday. Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospital trusts, mental-health trusts and ambulance services in England, said it was still too early to know the full impact of the strike, but she said category-one calls - which are life-threatening situations - "had been answered". [...]

Thursday and Friday were going to be "incredibly difficult days across the NHS because there is a lot of unseen demand and risk out there", she said. [...] People were also being urged to use their own transport or take a taxi to get to hospital. But Ms Cordery said that "as far as we can tell", people had not been attending A&E in taxis or by their own vehicles. [...]

A spokesperson for West Midlands Ambulance Service - one of nine where industrial action was taking place in England - said there had been a reduction in calls and staff were grateful to the public for heeding advice to call 999 only in life-threatening situations.

Unions had agreed that ambulance workers would respond to category-one 999 calls and the most serious category-two calls (emergencies, including strokes and major burns) during strikes, but there would be no guarantee of a response to less urgent calls, such as falls. This prompted Health Secretary Stephen Barclay to accuse unions of taking a conscious decision to inflict harm on patients - an accusation that Unite union leader Sharon Graham said was a "blatant lie". [...] Ambulance waits for calls classed as emergencies have doubled in two years - from an average of around 20 minutes to more than 40 minutes. The target is 18 minutes.

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-64053080

Schneemann