Strikes: Here's the advice about ringing 999 in Calderdale as ambulance workers go on strike

Unions are demanding a pay rise and protesting about ambulances being stuck outside A&E departments for long periods instead of attending new emergencies.

Staggered walkouts are taking place over a 24-hour period and include paramedics, call handlers, drivers and technicians from the Unison and GMB unions.

Data has shown that more than 40 per cent of crews were forced to wait at least half an hour to hand over patients in the week up to January 1.

For Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, that figure was 16 per cent.

And figures for the trust also show, 34 per cent of patients in A&E were waiting longer than the target time of four hours in November.

The trust has urged people in Calderdale to still ring 999 if anyone needs life-saving care today.

It posted on social media: “Today, our local ambulance service is impacted by industrial action.

"Non-emergency patient transport services are also affected, except for those attending cancer, renal and palliative care appointments.

"You should continue to call 999 if anyone requires life-saving care.”

Dan Whittall, Chair of Calderdale Trades Union Council, said: “Workers across all sectors are finding their voice and struggling for better pay and conditions.

"We stand in solidarity and full support with our ambulance workers on their picket lines in Calderdale and beyond.

"We can win these disputes together, and when we do we’ll be building a better world step by step.”