PEOPLE are being warned to only dial 999 in life-threatening emergencies during a planned strike by ambulance staff on Monday morning.

Unison and GMB members across the region are taking part in a second four-hour national strike over pay.

The unions have said that only patients with a life-threatening condition should receive an emergency or patient transport vehicle during the strike and have exempted their members from action to respond to these incidents.

The action is being taken following ballots across the country and strikes will take place between 7am and 11am.

The unions are also applying restrictions on responding to non-life-threatening incidents in the last hour of each shift for the rest of the week until midnight on Sunday.

Paul Liversidge, chief operating officer of North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Our overriding obligation is to provide a high quality and safe service to patients.

“Our focus is on taking all reasonable steps to mitigate the consequences of this action and we have negotiated with the unions to ensure that the impact of their action is minimised on our emergency care, patient transport and both 999 and 111 services.

“However, we expect the strike action to have a considerable impact on our ability to respond to emergency calls.”

Dr David Macklin, the Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust’s interim executive director of operations, said: “We will be carrying out additional clinical assessment over the telephone using doctors and senior clinicians in our 999 emergency operations centres to prioritise those most in need.

“Members of the public can play a big part in ensuring that those who need an emergency ambulance response get one and it’s vital that people only call 999 for an ambulance when it is a life-threatening or serious illness or injury. "

NEAS will not be able to respond to non-life-threatening green calls, nor provide a service for GP practices requesting urgent transport during the strike period.

The action is also expected to affect the answering of 999 and 111 calls and cause a delay in dispatching.

There will be pressure on the ambulance contact centre throughout the day due to a likely backlog of calls and routine appointments, while the Patient Transport Service (PTS) will also be significantly affected.

The unions have agreed that all staff will return to normal duties in the event of a major incident in the during the strike period.

Mr Liversidge said: “We recognise the right of our staff to take this action, and understand that the decision is a difficult one for those who choose to take part.”