Today's live page was brought to you by Kris Bramwell, Heather Sharp, James FitzGerald, Sam Hancock, Malu Cursino, Ruchira Sharma, Alys Davies, Samuel Horti, James Burgess, James Harness, and Dulcie Lee.
What's been happening today?
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
We'll soon be ending our live coverage of today's industrial action, which saw thousands of ambulance workers going on strike.
Here's a run through today's main developments:
Health Secretary Steve Barclay accused unions of making a conscious choice to harm patients, which was met by severe criticism by some unions
Unite union called Barclay's comments a "blatant lie", while Unison chief Christina McAnea said they were "utter nonsense"
Reports suggest some A&E departments were quieter than usual and emergency callouts were down in some areas
But NHS leaders are concerned that people who haven't sought the care they need today will increase pressure on services in the coming days
Across England and Wales, ambulance workers were out on picket lines, expressing frustration over long shifts and waits to hand patients over to hospitals, as well as the ongoing dispute over pay
Some ambulance workers joined picket lines in full uniform in case they were called away to deal with a life-threatening emergency - one in Wakefield did so soon after speaking to the BBC
Away from today's action, nurses in Scotland who are members of the Royal College of Nursing union rejected their latest pay offer from the NHS and are planning strikes early next year
Hospitals advise against home births during ambulance strike
BBCCopyright: BBC
Anyone planning a home birth today should instead go to a maternity unit because of the ambulance strikes, some hospital trusts have said.
Various hospitals across the country - including in Sussex, Doncaster, and London - have told people planning a home birth to instead go to a maternity unit or birthing centre. This is because it will take longer to get an ambulance if you have complications.
"To mitigate against any potential risks associated with the ambulance strikes, we are asking that women booked for a home birth come into the maternity unit," Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust wrote in a Facebook post late on Tuesday.
"However, if you are planning a home birth and feel that you are in labour, do not hesitate to contact the Maternity Triage Unit to discuss appropriate plans and support," the trust wrote.
Earlier today, Home Secretary Steve Barclay told LBC the reason for this advice was that home-birth complications could be classed as category-three calls, meaning an ambulance wouldn't be dispatched during strikes. Only category-one calls - the most serious - and some category two-calls will get an ambulance today.
NHS strikes: More of your views
Here are some further thoughts on the ambulance strike in England Wales sent to us today.
Quote Message: Fully support the strike. There is no increased risk today from the ambulance crews being on strike. The government made sure the risk was already way out of hand before this year even started. from Matt
Fully support the strike. There is no increased risk today from the ambulance crews being on strike. The government made sure the risk was already way out of hand before this year even started.
Quote Message: Is it pay that’s the issue? I was in A&E last week with my mum. There were corridors of poorly people stuck with ambulance crew who wanted to get back out doing their job. The system they feel is broken and no one is listening! from Emma
Is it pay that’s the issue? I was in A&E last week with my mum. There were corridors of poorly people stuck with ambulance crew who wanted to get back out doing their job. The system they feel is broken and no one is listening!
Quote Message: I think that a 'strike' by any profession is an archaic way of negotiating a pay increase and serves no purpose these days. It only causes more problems for ordinary people who are probably struggling with their own finances anyway - and to choose this time of year to strike just adds to everyone’s burdens, particularly vulnerable people. from Mary
I think that a 'strike' by any profession is an archaic way of negotiating a pay increase and serves no purpose these days. It only causes more problems for ordinary people who are probably struggling with their own finances anyway - and to choose this time of year to strike just adds to everyone’s burdens, particularly vulnerable people.
Fewer 999 calls today - but a big backlog to come?
Michelle Roberts
Health editor, BBC News online
The day started with fears that lives could be lost and ambulance crews might not reach some patients who needed urgent care.
This evening, the concern is that far fewer patients than expected have been calling 999.
It could be that the public heeded warnings ahead of the strike to play it safe, and avoid risky activities that might cause slips, trips and falls - and other accidents. Some patients may have used other health services - such as NHS 111, GPs and pharmacies that were not on strike.
But others who really needed an ambulance may have simply not called. Health chiefs say there could be a big rebound tomorrow with ambulance teams and A&E departments swamped with patients.
Dr Adrian Boyle, the president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, told The Telegraph: “We have anxieties about people not seeking help when they should. We saw this in lockdown."
He says the situation could become much worse in the days to come.
Patients arriving, but west London A&E quieter than usual
Frances Read
Reporting from Ealing Hospital, west London
BBCCopyright: BBC
The strike started here in Ealing at around midday today, and it will continue until midnight.
There’s not been the usual wailing of sirens or blue lights. It’s been a lot quieter than usual.
The Armed Forces have been helping drive ambulances across London, as they have across the country. We’ve seen two marines turn up in one of the ambulances to bring in a patient.
We've also seen paramedics bring in an older person on a stretcher.
We had a look inside A&E. The waiting room was full but not as busy as usual. A lot of people told us they had called the NHS 111 advice line this morning and been told to make their own way here. They were advised they could not have an ambulance, but if they could get here they could still be seen. So that’s what many people have done.
People we’ve spoken to today say it’s been fairly quiet inside so they’ve been seen a lot faster than they expected - they were quite surprised at that.
The London Ambulance Service said it had declared a “business continuity incident” even before the strikes, due to winter pressures, but today’s strike will have added to those pressures.
What's been the impact of today's action?
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
We've been trying to build up a picture of the impact of today's strike action, but the situation varies between regions and some ambulance trusts have not given information.
Here's what we've heard from ambulance services:
Demand for ambulances is reportedly lower in in south-west England - down by a third, according to Unison, a union representing ambulance workers
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman says his team has also experienced fewer calls than normal
The Welsh Ambulance Service said "demand is manageable" but still urged the public to only call 999 in a life-threatening emergency
In Sussex and Surrey the impact on emergency and urgent care services was "very limited", and the effects were mainly felt on patient transport
Several ambulance services had declared critical incidents before the strike, however, because of high demand
NHS leaders have, however, warned there will be fallout from the strike action over the coming days, as patients' conditions might have deteriorated due to delays in seeking help.
Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive of NHS Providers, said the fallout would result from "knock-on impact across different parts of the health and care system, the need to reschedule elective and outpatient appointments, and the anticipation of a return to very high numbers of emergency calls."
A chief executive of a large northern teaching trust told the Health Service Journal (HSJ) things had "so far not (been) as bad as I'd feared in terms of hospital pressures - in fact, (emergency departments) are less pressured than usual". But they expected "very busy days on Thursday and Friday".
Tories have lost my vote over treatment of NHS, says nurse
It's not only paramedics who have been striking over pay and working conditions. Nurses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have also taken industrial action in recent days.
But Clint, 53, a nurse from East Yorkshire, says he will not walk out as he doesn't want to leave his patients.
He tells PA news agency he understands colleagues who do decide to strike - saying the NHS is in the worst state he's seen since joining the profession 30 years ago.
Despite being a life-long Conservative voter, he says the governing party has now lost his vote over its treatment of the NHS.
"I voted Tory consistently all my life but now they're just letting us down," he says.
'We have staff having to use food banks'
Anne-Marie Tasker
BBC Look North
BBCCopyright: BBC
Union representative Wendy Smith (L) and Paige Orton (R) joined a picket lineImage caption: Union representative Wendy Smith (L) and Paige Orton (R) joined a picket line
In
Hull, there's been a sense of frustration and disappointment on the picket line,
with ambulance workers saying they've taken strike action as a last
resort.
"We
have staff having to use food banks," says Wendy Smith, the representative of the Unison union at Hull Sutton Fields ambulance station.
"They're that tired they can't do
overtime....they're just drained," she explains. "There's
been times I've been on my orange light hoping I have enough fuel to get to
work."
Paige Orton, an emergency care assistant for Yorkshire Ambulance Service, adds: "The
public think we're doing it just for the money. We're not. It's ultimately
about patient safety.
"Patients are waiting hours in poorly and critical conditions
not getting ambulances, because we're all stuck at Hull Royal [Infirmary] queuing for hours
on end.
"You can be on the ambulance 10, 11 hours. Crews aren't getting meal
breaks. They're finishing 15, 16 hours into their shift."
Reality Check
Would NHS pay rises cause inflation?
Earlier in the year, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey called on workers not to ask for big pay rises in order to help keep rising
prices under control.
The theory is that if you give people more money while the same amount of goods and services are available, then demand goes up - meaning prices keep rising.
That causes what's called a "wage spiral". As inflation rises,
workers ask for bigger pay rises - and to fund those, companies have to put up prices
or the government has to raise taxes. That means more
inflation.
But there are arguments that this isn't what's happening at
the moment.
The government often reminds us that the inflation we're currently experiencing is not due to rising wages, but is largely a result of global factors such as the emergence from Covid and the war in Ukraine.
So inflation is more likely to be brought down by changes to those global factors - rather than giving nurses and ambulance workers below-inflation pay deals.
And the other argument is that the current high inflation
is unusual because it coincides with an expected recession for the economy. So
putting a bit of extra demand in the economy through pay rises may be no bad
thing, if growth is to return.
UK health services under pressure - even in non-strike areas
PA MediaCopyright: PA Media
One patient in Scotland couldn't be airlifted straight to hospital due to a lack of ambulances thereImage caption: One patient in Scotland couldn't be airlifted straight to hospital due to a lack of ambulances there
We're seeing examples of emergency health services in the UK struggling under pressure - even before today's ambulance staff strike, or in areas unaffected by it.
There are no walkouts in Northern Ireland today, but the ambulance service says it's at its "highest level of pressure" with waits of more than 24 hours for some patients. One man died after waiting upwards of nine hours.
As for England - strike action by ambulance workers is under way today. "Critical incidents" have been declared in several places - but before the industrial action began.
In one case, the public was yesterday told to avoid going to Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan, which tweeted to say: "Our A&E is full."
A baby struggling to breathe and a postponed hip operation
A former GP receptionist for the NHS has been speaking about her family's experiences during these days of strike action within the health service.
Deb Robinson, 53 from Derby, tells PA news agency her two-week-old grandson was rushed to hospital late on Tuesday evening by the baby boy's parents, after they called 111 saying he'd been coughing and having trouble breathing.
They'd been told they needed an ambulance. They waited five hours and ended up driving him to hospital themselves at 23:00 - just before some of today's ambulance strikes began.
"A tiny baby needing oxygen being delayed by a few hours... I do sympathise, I do. I know not all wanted to strike. But lives are at risk," Robinson says.
She also says her 78-year-old father had his hip replacement operation - scheduled for yesterday - cancelled because of the nurses' strike.
He'd been on the waiting list for three years and has been in "a lot of pain", she says.
"I know (NHS staff) have an awful lot of responsibilities and yes they should be paid accordingly but I'm not sure striking is right... I don't know the answer."
Few patients spotted at west London hospital
Hamzah Abbas
BBC News in London
BBCCopyright: BBC
This is the scene at a relatively quiet West Middlesex Hospital in Isleworth.
While I've been outside, hardly any patients have gone into or out of the building.
Health Minister Steve
Barclay earlier advised the public to use their “common sense” when choosing their activities on a day with lower ambulance provision, while the NHS has asked the public to only use 999 in the case of a life-threatening emergency.
Reality Check
Will we know if more people have died due to strikes?
Talking about striking ambulance workers, the front page of this morning’s Daily Mail had the headline: “How will they live with themselves if people die today?”
But of course, people die every day and the question will be
whether more people than usual have died as a result of the strikes.
That will be very difficult to work out - and particularly
difficult to work out quickly.
The Office for National Statistics publishes figures for the
number of people who have died in England and Wales every day, together with
the average number of people who usually die on that day, but that data will
not be published for December until late January.
Once we have that data, you could look for a spike in deaths
on strike days, although people affected by the strikes would not necessarily
die on that day.
But even if there is a big increase during the week of a
strike, for example, it is very difficult to demonstrate that it is because of
the industrial action, and not because of other things going on at that time.
We’ve just had a period of severe cold, which may be
increasing the number of deaths, and Covid and flu are still having an impact.
And, as the unions have been pointing out, we’ve been
hearing about problems in the ambulance service for some time, with ambulances
being forced to wait for hours outside hospitals, which means an increase in the
amount of time some patients need to wait for emergency assistance.
NHS strikes: More of your opinions
Here are some more of your thoughts on this week's walkouts by NHS workers. You can get involved by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
Quote Message: Ambulance drivers and nurses should be ashamed of themselves. Striking during this time of year? They are already one of the highest paid sectors and it is unreasonable to expect more from the government at this point. Cost of living has hit everyone and believe me, checkout assistants are doing much worse than a nurse on £30k. from Ricky Memi
Ambulance drivers and nurses should be ashamed of themselves. Striking during this time of year? They are already one of the highest paid sectors and it is unreasonable to expect more from the government at this point. Cost of living has hit everyone and believe me, checkout assistants are doing much worse than a nurse on £30k.
Quote Message: As a doctor working in the NHS, the deterioration in viable working conditions over the past 10 years lies at the door of No 10. Nurses and paramedics, who have my full support, need to attract the best and brightest to have a functioning NHS, which won't happen with poor pay and working conditions. from Joe, a GP registrar from Teesside
As a doctor working in the NHS, the deterioration in viable working conditions over the past 10 years lies at the door of No 10. Nurses and paramedics, who have my full support, need to attract the best and brightest to have a functioning NHS, which won't happen with poor pay and working conditions.
Quote Message: I am 100% in support of the nurses and ambulance staff. For far too long successive governments have used emotional blackmail to avoid paying staff in the hospital and care sectors the salaries they deserve. from Jean
I am 100% in support of the nurses and ambulance staff. For far too long successive governments have used emotional blackmail to avoid paying staff in the hospital and care sectors the salaries they deserve.
NCT advises expectant mothers to get lifts or taxis to hospital
Malu Cursino
BBC News Live reporter
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
One big concern for many people amid today's industrial action is over pregnant women who are at or near their due date.
Staff on maternity wards are not striking alongside ambulance workers. But there are fears that expectant mothers could face difficulties if they need to be rushed into hospital by ambulance.
The National Childbirth Trust (NCT) told us that during today's strike, women in labour who've planned a hospital birth should keep in touch with their maternity unit, and make their own way there as advised.
London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust has looked to reassure patients by urging them to call if they're worried about themselves or their baby: "Don't put it off."
NHS trusts have advised people to make alternative plans for getting to the hospital, and not rely on ambulances.
NCT head Angela McConville said in most cases this meant being driven by "family, friends or taxi, as ambulance drivers are only responding to danger-to-life calls".
In her statement she added: "The wellbeing of mum and baby is paramount - so we would recommend they follow the advice given by hospital trusts, and speak to their midwife if they have any questions or concerns.”
Reality Check
Can the government reject pay review bodies' recommendations?
Health secretary Steve Barclay has defended the government’s
refusal to negotiate NHS salaries, including ambulance workers, emphasising that its pay offer was based on recommendations by an independent pay review body (PRB).
He said the government accepted the NHS PRB’s
recommendations in full. in July, the body recommended to give a pay rise of
roughly £1,400 this year for all NHS workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which is worth about 4%, on
average, for nurses.
Sharon Graham, General Secretary of Unite trade union, told
the Today programme that the government does not have to accept the
recommendations.
She said: "In 2014 the pay review bodies said that
workers should get a 1% rise and they got a pay freeze so that was ignored”.
That’s right – the recommendations by PRBs are not legally
binding and in 2014 Jeremy Hunt, who was then health secretary, rejected the NHS
body’s recommendation.
In 2022, the government accepted in full the recommendations
from five PRBs and rejected certain parts of recommendations by two others -
the Prison Service PRB and the Senior Salaries PRB.
Arron Glenwright-Cook is a paramedic who's on the picket line outside Doncaster Ambulance Station.
He'll lose money for striking today at a time when his family - including four children - can "scarcely" afford it, he says. But that won't stop him.
“The pay and working conditions of ambulance staff of all grades is falling further and further behind the cost of living and speed of inflation," he explains.
He describes an incident this week in which a fellow paramedic "knelt on the floor... and began to cry" after a pay error left them £600 short this month.
Glenwright-Cook adds: “Working in the public service should be rewarding, and should always provide a good standard of living. The only public servants it seems to do this for without fail are MPs."
He says he's willing to sacrifice a day's pay to highlight that the emergency medical system has "collapsed" - adding that the government must act.
Holyrood vows to avert NHS strikes in Scotland
Laura Foster
Health correspondent
PA MediaCopyright: PA Media
Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf will meet nursing and midwifery bodies tomorrowImage caption: Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf will meet nursing and midwifery bodies tomorrow
Today's strikes are by ambulance services in England and Wales.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Government says "no stone will be left unturned" when it comes to preventing strikes by other NHS workers - nurses and midwives - in Scotland this winter.
Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf will meet the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Midwives tomorrow, after both unions rejected the latest pay offer.
Under that deal, NHS workers in Scotland would receive a pay rise of between £2,205 - £2,2751. There would be an average increase of 7.5%, with the lowest paid staff getting 11.3%.
Ministers say this deal would make Scotland's NHS workers the highest paid in the UK.
Yousaf says he was "disappointed" at the outcome of their ballots but he "respected the voice of the membership".
Concern over A&E 'rebound' in coming days
Dr Adrian Boyle, the president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, says he's worried that people aren't seeking the care they need during today's ambulance strike - and he fears a "rebound effect" in the coming days.
Demand for ambulances has dropped in some parts of the country today, and the public are being advised to only call 999 if they think their life is in danger or if they have a serious injury.
"We have anxieties about people not seeking help when they should," Boyle tells The Telegraph. "We are particularly concerned about a rebound effect which means things could be much worse in the days to come."
A chief executive of a large northern teaching trust told the Health Service Journal (HSJ) that emergency departments were under less pressure than usual today. "We therefore expect very busy days on Thursday and Friday," they said.
The emergency care system is already facing record demand, according to health leaders.
Boyle, from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, has also spoken to the PA news agency, saying that there may be a number of reasons why the number of 999 calls has fallen today, including "hesitancy".
"We want to reassure patients and the public that if they need emergency care, A&Es remain open," he says.
Live Reporting
Edited by Samuel Horti and Heather Sharp
All times stated are UK
Get involved
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images -
Health Secretary Steve Barclay accused unions of making a conscious choice to harm patients, which was met by severe criticism by some unions
-
Unite union called Barclay's comments a "blatant lie", while Unison chief Christina McAnea said they were "utter nonsense"
-
Reports suggest some A&E departments were quieter than usual and emergency callouts were down in some areas
-
But NHS leaders are concerned that people who haven't sought the care they need today will increase pressure on services in the coming days
-
Across England and Wales, ambulance workers were out on picket lines, expressing frustration over long shifts and waits to hand patients over to hospitals, as well as the ongoing dispute over pay
-
Some ambulance workers joined picket lines in full uniform in case they were called away to deal with a life-threatening emergency - one in Wakefield did so soon after speaking to the BBC
-
Away from today's action, nurses in Scotland who are members of the Royal College of Nursing union rejected their latest pay offer from the NHS and are planning strikes early next year
BBCCopyright: BBC 
BBCCopyright: BBC 
ReutersCopyright: Reuters -
Demand for ambulances is reportedly lower in in south-west England - down by a third, according to Unison, a union representing ambulance workers
-
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman says his team has also experienced fewer calls than normal
-
The Welsh Ambulance Service said "demand is manageable" but still urged the public to only call 999 in a life-threatening emergency
-
In Sussex and Surrey the impact on emergency and urgent care services was "very limited", and the effects were mainly felt on patient transport
-
Several ambulance services had declared critical incidents before the strike, however, because of high demand
BBCCopyright: BBC Union representative Wendy Smith (L) and Paige Orton (R) joined a picket lineImage caption: Union representative Wendy Smith (L) and Paige Orton (R) joined a picket line 
PA MediaCopyright: PA Media One patient in Scotland couldn't be airlifted straight to hospital due to a lack of ambulances thereImage caption: One patient in Scotland couldn't be airlifted straight to hospital due to a lack of ambulances there 
BBCCopyright: BBC 
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images 
Arron Glenwright-CookCopyright: Arron Glenwright-Cook 
PA MediaCopyright: PA Media Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf will meet nursing and midwifery bodies tomorrowImage caption: Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf will meet nursing and midwifery bodies tomorrow
Latest PostThanks for joining us
We're going to end our live coverage of the strikes here for today.
You can read our main story of the day here and check how tomorrow's strikes might affect you here.
Remember, patients who are seriously ill or injured, or whose lives are in danger, are still being advised by the NHS to call 999.
For all other healthcare needs, the NHS is advising people to contact NHS 111 online or via the NHS 111 helpline, or to contact their local GP or pharmacy.
Today's live page was brought to you by Kris Bramwell, Heather Sharp, James FitzGerald, Sam Hancock, Malu Cursino, Ruchira Sharma, Alys Davies, Samuel Horti, James Burgess, James Harness, and Dulcie Lee.
What's been happening today?
We'll soon be ending our live coverage of today's industrial action, which saw thousands of ambulance workers going on strike.
Here's a run through today's main developments:
Hospitals advise against home births during ambulance strike
Anyone planning a home birth today should instead go to a maternity unit because of the ambulance strikes, some hospital trusts have said.
Various hospitals across the country - including in Sussex, Doncaster, and London - have told people planning a home birth to instead go to a maternity unit or birthing centre. This is because it will take longer to get an ambulance if you have complications.
"To mitigate against any potential risks associated with the ambulance strikes, we are asking that women booked for a home birth come into the maternity unit," Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust wrote in a Facebook post late on Tuesday.
"However, if you are planning a home birth and feel that you are in labour, do not hesitate to contact the Maternity Triage Unit to discuss appropriate plans and support," the trust wrote.
Earlier today, Home Secretary Steve Barclay told LBC the reason for this advice was that home-birth complications could be classed as category-three calls, meaning an ambulance wouldn't be dispatched during strikes. Only category-one calls - the most serious - and some category two-calls will get an ambulance today.
NHS strikes: More of your views
Here are some further thoughts on the ambulance strike in England Wales sent to us today.
Fewer 999 calls today - but a big backlog to come?
Michelle Roberts
Health editor, BBC News online
The day started with fears that lives could be lost and ambulance crews might not reach some patients who needed urgent care.
This evening, the concern is that far fewer patients than expected have been calling 999.
It could be that the public heeded warnings ahead of the strike to play it safe, and avoid risky activities that might cause slips, trips and falls - and other accidents. Some patients may have used other health services - such as NHS 111, GPs and pharmacies that were not on strike.
But others who really needed an ambulance may have simply not called. Health chiefs say there could be a big rebound tomorrow with ambulance teams and A&E departments swamped with patients.
Dr Adrian Boyle, the president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, told The Telegraph: “We have anxieties about people not seeking help when they should. We saw this in lockdown."
He says the situation could become much worse in the days to come.
Patients arriving, but west London A&E quieter than usual
Frances Read
Reporting from Ealing Hospital, west London
The strike started here in Ealing at around midday today, and it will continue until midnight.
There’s not been the usual wailing of sirens or blue lights. It’s been a lot quieter than usual.
The Armed Forces have been helping drive ambulances across London, as they have across the country. We’ve seen two marines turn up in one of the ambulances to bring in a patient.
We've also seen paramedics bring in an older person on a stretcher.
We had a look inside A&E. The waiting room was full but not as busy as usual. A lot of people told us they had called the NHS 111 advice line this morning and been told to make their own way here. They were advised they could not have an ambulance, but if they could get here they could still be seen. So that’s what many people have done.
People we’ve spoken to today say it’s been fairly quiet inside so they’ve been seen a lot faster than they expected - they were quite surprised at that.
The London Ambulance Service said it had declared a “business continuity incident” even before the strikes, due to winter pressures, but today’s strike will have added to those pressures.
What's been the impact of today's action?
We've been trying to build up a picture of the impact of today's strike action, but the situation varies between regions and some ambulance trusts have not given information.
Here's what we've heard from ambulance services:
NHS leaders have, however, warned there will be fallout from the strike action over the coming days, as patients' conditions might have deteriorated due to delays in seeking help.
Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive of NHS Providers, said the fallout would result from "knock-on impact across different parts of the health and care system, the need to reschedule elective and outpatient appointments, and the anticipation of a return to very high numbers of emergency calls."
A chief executive of a large northern teaching trust told the Health Service Journal (HSJ) things had "so far not (been) as bad as I'd feared in terms of hospital pressures - in fact, (emergency departments) are less pressured than usual". But they expected "very busy days on Thursday and Friday".
Tories have lost my vote over treatment of NHS, says nurse
It's not only paramedics who have been striking over pay and working conditions. Nurses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have also taken industrial action in recent days.
But Clint, 53, a nurse from East Yorkshire, says he will not walk out as he doesn't want to leave his patients.
He tells PA news agency he understands colleagues who do decide to strike - saying the NHS is in the worst state he's seen since joining the profession 30 years ago.
Despite being a life-long Conservative voter, he says the governing party has now lost his vote over its treatment of the NHS.
"I voted Tory consistently all my life but now they're just letting us down," he says.
'We have staff having to use food banks'
Anne-Marie Tasker
BBC Look North
In Hull, there's been a sense of frustration and disappointment on the picket line, with ambulance workers saying they've taken strike action as a last resort.
"We have staff having to use food banks," says Wendy Smith, the representative of the Unison union at Hull Sutton Fields ambulance station.
"They're that tired they can't do overtime....they're just drained," she explains. "There's been times I've been on my orange light hoping I have enough fuel to get to work."
Paige Orton, an emergency care assistant for Yorkshire Ambulance Service, adds: "The public think we're doing it just for the money. We're not. It's ultimately about patient safety.
"Patients are waiting hours in poorly and critical conditions not getting ambulances, because we're all stuck at Hull Royal [Infirmary] queuing for hours on end.
"You can be on the ambulance 10, 11 hours. Crews aren't getting meal breaks. They're finishing 15, 16 hours into their shift."
Reality Check
Would NHS pay rises cause inflation?
Earlier in the year, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey called on workers not to ask for big pay rises in order to help keep rising prices under control.
The theory is that if you give people more money while the same amount of goods and services are available, then demand goes up - meaning prices keep rising.
That causes what's called a "wage spiral". As inflation rises, workers ask for bigger pay rises - and to fund those, companies have to put up prices or the government has to raise taxes. That means more inflation.
But there are arguments that this isn't what's happening at the moment.
The government often reminds us that the inflation we're currently experiencing is not due to rising wages, but is largely a result of global factors such as the emergence from Covid and the war in Ukraine.
So inflation is more likely to be brought down by changes to those global factors - rather than giving nurses and ambulance workers below-inflation pay deals.
And the other argument is that the current high inflation is unusual because it coincides with an expected recession for the economy. So putting a bit of extra demand in the economy through pay rises may be no bad thing, if growth is to return.
UK health services under pressure - even in non-strike areas
We're seeing examples of emergency health services in the UK struggling under pressure - even before today's ambulance staff strike, or in areas unaffected by it.
There are no walkouts in Northern Ireland today, but the ambulance service says it's at its "highest level of pressure" with waits of more than 24 hours for some patients. One man died after waiting upwards of nine hours.
Meanwhile in Scotland it's emerged that one incident earlier this month saw a patient flown into Glasgow Airport and then driven some 26 miles (42km) to hospital near Kilmarnock. They could have been flown to the hospital's own helipad - but for the fact there were no ambulances available to then drive them 300 yards into the hospital itself.
As for England - strike action by ambulance workers is under way today. "Critical incidents" have been declared in several places - but before the industrial action began.
In one case, the public was yesterday told to avoid going to Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan, which tweeted to say: "Our A&E is full."
A baby struggling to breathe and a postponed hip operation
A former GP receptionist for the NHS has been speaking about her family's experiences during these days of strike action within the health service.
Deb Robinson, 53 from Derby, tells PA news agency her two-week-old grandson was rushed to hospital late on Tuesday evening by the baby boy's parents, after they called 111 saying he'd been coughing and having trouble breathing.
They'd been told they needed an ambulance. They waited five hours and ended up driving him to hospital themselves at 23:00 - just before some of today's ambulance strikes began.
"A tiny baby needing oxygen being delayed by a few hours... I do sympathise, I do. I know not all wanted to strike. But lives are at risk," Robinson says.
She also says her 78-year-old father had his hip replacement operation - scheduled for yesterday - cancelled because of the nurses' strike.
He'd been on the waiting list for three years and has been in "a lot of pain", she says.
"I know (NHS staff) have an awful lot of responsibilities and yes they should be paid accordingly but I'm not sure striking is right... I don't know the answer."
Few patients spotted at west London hospital
Hamzah Abbas
BBC News in London
This is the scene at a relatively quiet West Middlesex Hospital in Isleworth.
While I've been outside, hardly any patients have gone into or out of the building.
Health Minister Steve Barclay earlier advised the public to use their “common sense” when choosing their activities on a day with lower ambulance provision, while the NHS has asked the public to only use 999 in the case of a life-threatening emergency.
Reality Check
Will we know if more people have died due to strikes?
Talking about striking ambulance workers, the front page of this morning’s Daily Mail had the headline: “How will they live with themselves if people die today?”
But of course, people die every day and the question will be whether more people than usual have died as a result of the strikes.
That will be very difficult to work out - and particularly difficult to work out quickly.
The Office for National Statistics publishes figures for the number of people who have died in England and Wales every day, together with the average number of people who usually die on that day, but that data will not be published for December until late January.
Once we have that data, you could look for a spike in deaths on strike days, although people affected by the strikes would not necessarily die on that day.
But even if there is a big increase during the week of a strike, for example, it is very difficult to demonstrate that it is because of the industrial action, and not because of other things going on at that time.
We’ve just had a period of severe cold, which may be increasing the number of deaths, and Covid and flu are still having an impact.
And, as the unions have been pointing out, we’ve been hearing about problems in the ambulance service for some time, with ambulances being forced to wait for hours outside hospitals, which means an increase in the amount of time some patients need to wait for emergency assistance.
NHS strikes: More of your opinions
Here are some more of your thoughts on this week's walkouts by NHS workers. You can get involved by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
NCT advises expectant mothers to get lifts or taxis to hospital
Malu Cursino
BBC News Live reporter
One big concern for many people amid today's industrial action is over pregnant women who are at or near their due date.
Staff on maternity wards are not striking alongside ambulance workers. But there are fears that expectant mothers could face difficulties if they need to be rushed into hospital by ambulance.
The National Childbirth Trust (NCT) told us that during today's strike, women in labour who've planned a hospital birth should keep in touch with their maternity unit, and make their own way there as advised.
London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust has looked to reassure patients by urging them to call if they're worried about themselves or their baby: "Don't put it off."
NHS trusts have advised people to make alternative plans for getting to the hospital, and not rely on ambulances.
NCT head Angela McConville said in most cases this meant being driven by "family, friends or taxi, as ambulance drivers are only responding to danger-to-life calls".
In her statement she added: "The wellbeing of mum and baby is paramount - so we would recommend they follow the advice given by hospital trusts, and speak to their midwife if they have any questions or concerns.”
Reality Check
Can the government reject pay review bodies' recommendations?
Health secretary Steve Barclay has defended the government’s refusal to negotiate NHS salaries, including ambulance workers, emphasising that its pay offer was based on recommendations by an independent pay review body (PRB).
He said the government accepted the NHS PRB’s recommendations in full. in July, the body recommended to give a pay rise of roughly £1,400 this year for all NHS workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which is worth about 4%, on average, for nurses.
Sharon Graham, General Secretary of Unite trade union, told the Today programme that the government does not have to accept the recommendations.
She said: "In 2014 the pay review bodies said that workers should get a 1% rise and they got a pay freeze so that was ignored”.
That’s right – the recommendations by PRBs are not legally binding and in 2014 Jeremy Hunt, who was then health secretary, rejected the NHS body’s recommendation.
In 2022, the government accepted in full the recommendations from five PRBs and rejected certain parts of recommendations by two others - the Prison Service PRB and the Senior Salaries PRB.
Read more: Is the NHS pay review body independent?
Paramedic recalls colleague in tears over pay error
Arron Glenwright-Cook is a paramedic who's on the picket line outside Doncaster Ambulance Station.
He'll lose money for striking today at a time when his family - including four children - can "scarcely" afford it, he says. But that won't stop him.
“The pay and working conditions of ambulance staff of all grades is falling further and further behind the cost of living and speed of inflation," he explains.
He describes an incident this week in which a fellow paramedic "knelt on the floor... and began to cry" after a pay error left them £600 short this month.
Glenwright-Cook adds: “Working in the public service should be rewarding, and should always provide a good standard of living. The only public servants it seems to do this for without fail are MPs."
He says he's willing to sacrifice a day's pay to highlight that the emergency medical system has "collapsed" - adding that the government must act.
Holyrood vows to avert NHS strikes in Scotland
Laura Foster
Health correspondent
Today's strikes are by ambulance services in England and Wales.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Government says "no stone will be left unturned" when it comes to preventing strikes by other NHS workers - nurses and midwives - in Scotland this winter.
Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf will meet the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Midwives tomorrow, after both unions rejected the latest pay offer.
Under that deal, NHS workers in Scotland would receive a pay rise of between £2,205 - £2,2751. There would be an average increase of 7.5%, with the lowest paid staff getting 11.3%.
Ministers say this deal would make Scotland's NHS workers the highest paid in the UK.
Yousaf says he was "disappointed" at the outcome of their ballots but he "respected the voice of the membership".
Concern over A&E 'rebound' in coming days
Dr Adrian Boyle, the president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, says he's worried that people aren't seeking the care they need during today's ambulance strike - and he fears a "rebound effect" in the coming days.
Demand for ambulances has dropped in some parts of the country today, and the public are being advised to only call 999 if they think their life is in danger or if they have a serious injury.
"We have anxieties about people not seeking help when they should," Boyle tells The Telegraph. "We are particularly concerned about a rebound effect which means things could be much worse in the days to come."
A chief executive of a large northern teaching trust told the Health Service Journal (HSJ) that emergency departments were under less pressure than usual today. "We therefore expect very busy days on Thursday and Friday," they said.
The emergency care system is already facing record demand, according to health leaders.
Boyle, from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, has also spoken to the PA news agency, saying that there may be a number of reasons why the number of 999 calls has fallen today, including "hesitancy".
"We want to reassure patients and the public that if they need emergency care, A&Es remain open," he says.