Paramedic calls out Insulate Britain ‘idiots’ blocking ambulances on 999 calls
A paramedic has hit out at ‘idiots’ in Insulate Britain, saying ambulances are being caught up in tailbacks created by the road-blocking protests.
The person, based in the south of England, said the group’s policy of allowing ‘blue lighted’ emergency vehicles through does not work when gridlock ensues.
The source told Metro.co.uk that during one protest an ambulance on an emergency call was stuck on a jammed approach road south of the Blackwall Tunnel.
Another at the front was apparently allowed through by the eco-activists but the queues created by the protest and two others on routes into London on October 3 stretched for miles.
The environmental group says it has a policy of allowing ‘blue lighted’ emergency vehicles through its blockades and there are ‘multiple’ video examples of this happening.
The activists resumed their civil disobedience campaign this week, resulting in anger from rush-hour motorists who tried to edge cars forward into their lines and campaigners having ink squirted in their faces.
The experienced paramedic, who is based outside of London, told Metro.co.uk there was no way the group could mitigate the wider impacts of shutting down roads at busy times of day.
The source said: ‘We generate the carbon in a year that China and India generate in a week, so why don’t they try to block the roads over there?
‘It’s serious. They let through an ambulance when they blockaded the Blackwall Tunnel but there was another on the approach to the tunnel, which was near the Sun in the Sands interchange, heading to an emergency call in Charlton, that got caught up in the traffic.
‘The problem is the knock-on effects. While these idiots might be glued to the road there are miles of tailbacks, there are side roads, roundabouts and box junctions they have no control over.’
Another veteran paramedic, who works for London Ambulance Service (LAS), struck a more conciliatory note. The person, also speaking in a personal capacity, told Metro.co.uk that Insulate Britain is alienating people, including in the NHS, by bringing highways to a standstill.
However, the essential worker said if confronted with a blockade her approach would be to try and reason with the demonstrators, who have declared the M25 ‘a place of non-violent civil resistance to stop our government committing crimes against humanity’.
A new ‘super injunction’ was granted to National Highways on Monday, which bans Insulate Britain from interfering with traffic on any part of the strategic road network in England.
It is one of four temporary injunctions granted to the government agency and Transport for London in recent weeks.
But the group, an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion, has ignored the government’s attempts to clamp down on the movement, with its members saying they are prepared to go to prison.
They want the government to introduce a national programme to insulate homes in order to reduce carbon emissions, saying a failure to act will result in ‘genocide’.
While the paramedic agrees with the campaigners’ wider aims, she said that their actions are self-defeating and could delay an emergency call.
The responder said: ‘I do broadly agree with their aims and objectives but the problem is that when you block a road you don’t win many friends.
‘We want to save the planet as much as they do, but their tactics are only going to alienate people from the cause they are trying to promote, especially when they block an ambulance or a fire engine.
‘One ambulance not getting through might not endanger loads of people, but it does put lives at risk.
‘If you work in the health service and you go on strike or take action you also risk alienating people, but when we’ve taken action in the past we’ve always said we will deal with emergency calls, so when it’s life-threatening, we will go out and deal with the real emergency. I have mixed feelings.’
The paramedic said her colleagues did not support the group’s tactics due to reports of ambulances being blocked and NHS workers being delayed travelling to work.
But she has previously appealed to people’s human nature while on duty in the city and would use the same tactic again if confronted with a blockade.
She said: ‘If I found our ambulance being blocked I would get out and I would talk to them, I would just say, “we support you wholeheartedly but let us through because we’ve got a very sick person in the back and we’re on an emergency”. I would appeal to that side of them.
‘I would say it might be you or one of your relatives we have got in the ambulance or being called out to. It reminds me of a protest I went to where someone was on hunger strike.
‘I had to go and check him over and I had a really long chat about whether he thought possibly dying would change anything, although I couldn’t persuade him stop.’
Both paramedics asked to remain anonymous as they were speaking in a personal capacity and had not been authorised to talk publicly.
Insulate Britain began its direct action campaign on September 13, with a 10-day pause before it was resumed on Monday (October 25).
A spokesperson said: ‘Insulate Britain’s policy on blue lighted ambulances and fire engines has always been to let them pass, there are multiple videos of this happening.’
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: ‘We work with partner agencies to try to reduce the impact of protests on our ability to respond to emergency calls and have procedures in place so we can still reach patients in need quickly.
‘Ultimately, a delay to us reaching someone who needs our care can cost lives. We would ask any protesters to please allow our crews to pass to ensure we are able to reach people who need our help as quickly as possible.’
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