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| | NHS faces challenging days following ambulance workers' strike | |  | | | | | | | | | The first strike by ambulance workers is over but there are fears the NHS now faces a surge in patients. Health bosses have warned that today will be similar to a day after a bank holiday, where large numbers of people turn up needing medical help. The rebound effect, as described by NHS Providers, which represents hospital trusts, is likely to emerge over the coming days. People changed their behaviour yesterday, Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive of NHS Providers, said, heeding the call not to use services. "But some will have chosen not to use them at all, even though they need them," she added. Only the most serious 999 calls were responded to when thousands of paramedics, call handlers and technicians staged walkouts in England and Wales yesterday.
Some union members reportedly came "off the picket line" to answer those emergency calls, Ms Cordery said. But hospitals were quieter than normal, with no evidence so far of people going to A&E departments in taxis or in their own cars. There was noise elsewhere though as tensions escalated between the government and unions over the strike. The clash focused on who would be to blame for preventable deaths during ambulance strikes - read here for what they said. There is a possibility further and more widespread strikes will take place in the new year as the dispute over pay continues. But today, ambulance staff will be returning to an already under pressure NHS that is expecting a very challenging day or two - here's the full story. | | | | | |
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| | China's hospitals seem to be filling up amid fresh Covid wave - WHO | | | | | | | | | Strict restrictions imposed as part of a zero Covid-19 policy in China ended two weeks ago after landmark protests. Since then, cases of the virus have soared. Official figures show no-one had died yesterday, five deaths were reported on Tuesday and two on Monday. But there is evidence that hospitals in Beijing and other cities appear to be filling up, the World Health Organization (WHO) said, raising concerns about a fresh wave hitting the country. Emergencies chief Dr Michael Ryan said intensive care units are busy despite officials saying numbers are "relatively low".
There is scepticism about the figures and Dr Ryan is urging China to provide more information - read more here. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is "very concerned over the evolving situation in China". Some citizens have taken to social media to express confusion and anger over the sudden lifting of restrictions, with one person saying: "Everyone I know is getting Covid and having a fever" - take a look at what else they have been saying. China has its own vaccines, which have been shown to be less effective than mRNA jabs used elsewhere in the world.
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| | Rural and coastal escape trend fades | | | | | | | | | When lockdown was introduced in the UK due to Covid, people started to work from home more, and that resulted in some of us reassessing where we wanted to live. That started a trend of escaping to rural and coastal areas for larger, more remote homes. According to property website Zoopla that is fading, with affordable towns becoming more popular. "City living has come back strongly as workers have returned to the office, and the lifting of pandemic restrictions has boosted the appeal of urban living," Chris Druce, senior research analyst at estate agent Knight Frank, said. Here's more on what's going on and which places have become popular. | | | | | |
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| | | | | | | | | | | This is a war where Ukrainian fathers and sons serve on the same frontlines. And this was how it was for 22-year-old Eugene Gromadskyi, at least at the very beginning. On the first day of the invasion, he stood shoulder to shoulder with his father Oleg on the outskirts of Kharkiv, as column after column of Russian men and armoured vehicles sought to capture their city.
In those crucial first hours he was in command of a unit, which outnumbered and outgunned, attacked and destroyed Russian vehicle columns and captured prisoners alive. For this, Eugene would go on to earn the country's highest military honour. His father would face a different fate. Eugene Gromadskyi has been in the thick of it for almost the entire war. | | | | | | | | | | | | Quentin Sommerville | | Near Kupyansk, eastern Ukraine | | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | | | | | | The strikes continue to make the headlines, with most of this morning's papers leading with the issue. Calls to 999 plummeted during the walkout by ambulance staff, the Daily Express reports, and now hospitals are braced for a surge in patients, the Times and Guardian say. Metro reports that some ambulance workers left the picket line to go to emergencies, which was applauded by colleagues. There's a "deadly silence" from the government over discussions about a pay deal to end the dispute, the Daily Mirror writes. But the Daily Telegraph's reporting that the NHS will be offered a new pay deal to break the negotiation deadlock. Meanwhile, stories about Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky's trip to the US, fuel prices and police drama Line of Duty also make the front pages. Read the newspaper review in full here. | | | | | |
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| | | | | War Biden tells Zelensky Ukraine will never stand alone | | | | | | | Energy One million vouchers unclaimed in cold snap | | | | | | | Weather US winter storm to bring coldest Christmas in decades | | | | | | | Royals King's Birthday Parade plans announced by palace | | | | | | |
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| | If you watch one thing today | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | If you listen to one thing today | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | If you read one thing today | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | Need something different? | | | | | | | | | A Scottish castle where metaphorical murders take place is the setting for new reality television show The Traitors, which has become a hit. Contestants have to root out three traitors who are allowed to carry out bloodless backstabbing each night. Fronted by Claudia Winkleman, the show has a fiercely devoted following. Here's why.
Next, to something else that is proving a hit - hiring Christmas trees. Instead of buying a tree, have you considered renting one? It has become popular, with one family renting the same tree called Eggnog for the past four years. Here's more on the people who would rather rent a tree.
And finally, as Christmas is just a few days away, a project is pulling together historical and biblical experts to translate the Bible. Original Greek and Hebrew texts are being converted into British Sign Language. It has never been done before. Find out what it entails here. | | | | | |
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| | On this day | | | | | | | 2001 The government launches a £3m campaign to convince parents the controversial MMR triple vaccine is safe. | | | | | | | | |
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| | | Let us know what you think of this newsletter by emailing bbcnewsdaily@bbc.co.uk. If you’d like to recommend it to a friend, forward this email. New subscribers can sign up here. | | | | | |
