eople should drive suspected stroke victims to hospital during the ambulance strike on Wednesday if they think it is safe to do so, a top doctor said.
Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, also warned that patients are already dying because of delays in the NHS.
The ambulance walk-outs have come at the “worst time,” he added, with the health service already under huge strain from Strep A, Covid and flu.
Hundreds of paramedics were taking part in industrial action from midday to midnight on Wednesday in London.
Life-threatening conditions, such as cardiac arrests or someone having a fit, are set to get an ambulance response, as they are Category 1 incidents.
Read MoreEast London GP abused position to sexually assault patients 25 timesCapivasertib: Scientists hail ‘landmark moment’ as drug slows growth of breast cancerOn The Breadline: Food bus to stop at hospital so patients and staff can stock upSPONSORED
Helping London boroughs and communities achieve net zeroHowever, people suffering from a Category 2 situation, like a stroke or chest pains which might indicate a heart attack, may not.
Asked if suspected stroke victims, or individuals who have chest pains which may be a heart attack, should ask someone to drive them to hospital, Dr Boyle told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Certainly if they think it’s safe to do so, that is actually a perfectly reasonable alternative.
“We have seen people present at the frontdoor of emergency departments for years with heart attacks and strokes.
“This happens and we have systems so that people are met by nurses at the front door, they see a clinician.
“So that can work and if it’s safe to do so that is actually quite a sensible thing to do.”
Pressed on whether he believed the strikes by ambulance crews on Wednesday would lead to deaths, he added: “I don’t know.
“The problem is the system is under so much pressure at the moment. it’s already very, very difficult.
“We are seeing deaths because of delay and dilution of care anyway, regardless of any industrial action.”
The last weekend had been one of the busiest to 999, he added and to NHS 111, and possibly in people going to A&E.
“All of this has come at the worst possible time,” he stressed, given the Strep A, Covid and flu situations.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay repeated his warning that there was still uncertainty over how striking ambulance crews would respond to 999 calls.
He told GB News: “My focus today will be doing all we can to protect patient safety but the bottom line is without these national agreements with the trade unions, there is uncertainty over the level of calls that they will respond to.
“So that’s why we’re saying to the public, bear in mind that the fact that the system is under pressure as a result of the strikes, but it’s also under pressure because we’ve had a surge in flu cases, we’ve got an uptick in COVID cases. And we’ve got many parents who are also concerned about Strep A so the system is under pressure. We’re just asking the public to be mindful of that.”
Christina McAnea, General Secretary of UNISON which has paramedic members striking in the capital, tweeted: “ I’m utterly shocked by the SoS’s (Health Secretary Mr Barclay) comments in the media.
“He’s never specifically asked UNISON for a national contingency agreement. In our meeting yesterday, he acknowledged that NHS staff – our local unions – have negotiated detailed, appropriate plans for their areas.”
Unions have criticised the Government for refusing to discuss pay hikes.
