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Health minister Will Quince has warned the public to avoid any “risky activities” on Wednesday as ambulance drivers stage strike action.
The NHS is set to be hit by major disruption as ambulance workers including paramedics, control room workers and technicians walk out in England and Wales.
During the strike, the military will not drive ambulances on blue lights for the most serious calls but are expected to provide support on other calls.
The junior minister said that armed forces personnel would play a key role but would not be able to “break the law” when covering for ambulance workers.
Mr Quince urged the public to avoid anything risky on Wednesday, telling BBC Breakfast: “Where people are planning any risky activity, I would strongly encourage them not to do so because there will be disruption on the day.”
The health minister did not offer examples of what might be defined as risky behaviour but told the public that in any emergency calling 999 should still be the first option.
“But the key thing is for anybody that does have an emergency situation or a life-threatening situation that they continue to call 999,” said Mr Quince.
Later on BBC Radio 4, he also said that anyone with chest pains on Wednesday should still call 999.
However, NHS officials are said to fear that some people suffering from heart attacks or strokes at home may not be able to get an ambulance at home when staff strike on Wednesday.
Health secretary Steve Barclay will meet with union officials on Tuesday to insist that both category 1 calls, the most immediate life-threatening cases, and category 2 calls – including heart attacks and strokes – are answered.
Mr Quince said he and health secretary Steve Barclay would stress with union bosses that the government’s “expectation” is for both category 1 and category 2 emergency calls are covered as part of an agreed minimum service.
“My call to the unions … is that category 1 and category 2 calls – which make up around 50 per cent of all calls to the ambulance service – should be covered as part of derogations [exemptions to the strike],” he told Sky News.
“If you have chest pains, call 999 and the expectation is … I don’t think that there is any paramedic, ambulance technician, anyone working in our NHS, whether they’re on a picket line or not, that would not respond to a 999 call where somebody has chest pains and there is a threat of a heart attack,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Mr Quince also suggested that striking nurses, ambulance drivers and paramedics should wait until April 2023 for the next independent pay review. “We look forward to the next pay review in April,” Mr Quince told Sky News.
