NHS prioritises emergency care amid walkout

THE National Health Service prioritised emergency care yesterday as tens of thousands of workers went on strike.

The Wakefield-based Mid Yorkshire hospitals trust cancelled all planned operations and “virtually all” outpatients clinics, providing only emergency and urgent treatment, chemotherapy and antenatal classes.

But the picture varied across the country, with some NHS trusts reporting next to no disruption.

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London Ambulance Service, where 42 per cent of staff were on strike, said it was under “severe pressure” following a 30 per cent increase in calls.

By contrast, South East Coast Ambulance Service, which said it was “severely hampered” by walkouts, experienced an eight per cent reduction in emergency calls compared with a normal Wednesday.