Sunak urges unions to call off NHS strikes as report recommends using reservists not troops in crisis

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Rishi Sunak has urged unions to call off the next wave of NHS strikes for the sake of their patients, as it emerged that army reservists, not troops, could be called in to deal with future strikes.

Some 1,300 troops are deployed this week to help deal with the fallout from the strike - more than those involved in vaccinating the public against Covid in early 2021.

But a new 79-page report on resilience warns that staff 'cannot be the first port of call whenever an emergency strikes' because of the pressures they already face back home and abroad.

The health service prepares for a difficult 48 hours as nurses stage their second strike in a week on Tuesday, followed by paramedics on Wednesday.

Air travel could also be thrown into chaos at the end of the week, when border force personnel begin industrial action.

Ministers held a meeting of the Cobra Emergency Committee on Monday, with another scheduled for Wednesday.

One of the biggest health unions, Unison, has accused the government of "intransigence" on pay.

Ministers have said they are ready to discuss with the unions, but not on wages.

Patricia Marquis, from the Royal College of Nursing, told Times Radio that nurses could stage strikes for up to six months.

The RCN highlighted the 47,000 nursing vacancies in the NHS and Ms Marquis said operations were being canceled and people were waiting in ambulances "every day" in the NHS.

General Secretary Unison's Christina McAnea accused the government of "using fears for public safety as a smokescreen for its own inaction. There would be no strike at all if ministers just talked to unions and improve NHS wages."

She said it was not yet too late to start negotiations.

She also dismissed warnings from No 10 that there was "still a worrying lack of clarity around the level of care" that paramedics were prepared to provide.

Contingency coverage plans would be in place in each local area, she insisted.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay should now "invest all his energy" into preventing these strikes and any escalation of action in the new year, she added .

During a trip to Latvia, the prime minister said the government was "well prepared" for the walkouts, but warned of the impact on patient health.