THE number of 999 ambulances available in the North-East was cut by more than half during today’s (Monday, November 24) strike, health bosses have revealed.

Officials from the North East Ambulance Service said that as a result of industrial action by crew members 57 per cent of A&E equipped vehicles were not available for the duration of the strike.

The industrial action between 7am-11am also delayed responses to callers whose condition was not life-threatening and meant that there was no ambulance service available for GP practices requesting urgent transport for patients.

Ambulance paramedics were among nurses, midwives, healthcare managers, porters, cleaners, medical records staff and healthcare assistants taking strike action over the Government’s refusal to fully implement the independent Pay Review Body recommendation on pay in the NHS.

The second national strike since October 13 was supported across the North-East and North Yorkshire with picket lines outside major hospitals.

The loose alliance of nine unions is angry that the one per cent pay offer from the Government does not include the normal annual increments many health staff receive, which means an estimated 60 per cent of NHS staff would not get a pay rise at all.

Trevor Johnston, North-East head of health for Unison, said: “People are still up for it and we have had really good public support.”

Simon Swallow, head of resilience at the NEAS, said: “We worked closely with Unison and GMB to agree exemptions that would allow us to response to life-threatening emergencies.”

During the four hours of the strike the NEAS responded to 172 out of 251 calls.

Joel Byers, NEAS branch secretary for Unison, said: “We negotiated 43 per cent exemption for vehicles which we were happy to do. We thought that was a safe level to put out.”

Mr Byers added: “I think we got our message across, hopefully to the Government, but also giving a safe level of cover for the public.”

He said causing disruption to patient transport was “something we don’t want to do but don’t feel we have got any option with this Government.”

A spokeswoman for North Tees and Hartlepool Trust said: "A small amount of planned surgery was cancelled. All urgent and emergency procedures went ahead as planned."

Ian Brandwood, executive director of human resources at the Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said planning and cooperation with trade unions ensured that the four hour strike had a minimal effect on patient care.

A spokeswoman for South Tees Hospitals said the action had “minimal impact.”

At the County Durham and Darlington Trust a spokesman said: “We had to reallocate staff in some areas to ensure cover. This helped us to maintain services and minimise disruption to patients.”