Responding to trade union Unite's announcement of a strike by ambulance staff on 23 January, NHS Providers' interim chief executive, Saffron Cordery, said:

"Another strike will pile even more pressure on already overstretched NHS services. There is huge strain on the whole health and social care system and trusts fear that more strikes will just make an extremely challenging situation worse.

"We understand how strongly ambulance staff feel and how below-inflation pay awards, the cost-of-living crisis, severe staff shortages and ever-increasing workloads have brought them to this point.

"There must be serious talks, specifically about pay, between the government and unions to avert any more strikes."