ONE of the UK’s largest trade unions is demanding for swift action to stop the major incident in Essex spiralling out of control.

UNISON, which serves more than 1.3 million full and part-time public services staff, responded the decision by the Essex Resilience Forum (ERF) declaring a "major incident" today (December 30).

This is due to coronavirus cases exceeded those seen at the peak of the first wave of the virus in the spring.

Responding to the declaration, UNISON Eastern head of health Sasha Savage said: “We’ve been lurching from one crisis to another during this pandemic and the government’s cack-handed efforts have done little to help.

“Even with an NHS hammered by a decade of austerity, much more could have been done to slow the spread of Covid-19: from PPE to testing, to a pig-headed insistence on keeping schools fully open.

“Once again it’s left to overworked and underpaid NHS staff to pick up the pieces.

“Everyone must now work together to stop this major incident spiralling further out of control.

“From ministers making sure local services have the resources they need to the public following Covid restrictions.”