Love Island’s Paige joins ambulance workers in NHS strike after being ‘pushed to last resort’

Love Island 2022 star Paige Thorne has been supporting her fellow ambulance workers who have been on strike in recent days. In a series of Instagram stories, Paige shared a post of her with the Unite the Union workers and said she was supporting the strikes.

Paige worked as a paramedic before she joined Love Island and even returned to her job after the series. Paige had previously told fans she would be going back to work on a “bank basis”, which means she can pick and choose shifts that suit her best.

via Instagram @paigethornex

Paige explained why she was supporting the strikes and said: “People are saying ‘how can I be supporting such ambulance strikes when people are out there dying because we’re on strike’. So, with NWAS there have been derogations that have been agreed on which are basically exemptions to why the service that we are providing is being disrupted. So yes it has been disrupted but we have agreed and always will agree on providing the top tier highest priority call, life threatening cover.

“We do not want anyone to come to harm from the disruption in service. But we have been pushed to this as a last resort to get the government to understand that staff are facing such financial crisis, some of them can’t even afford to travel to work or fuel for their cars. It’s unbelievable because the service we provide day in and day out under the extreme pressure that we do.

“Over the last 10 to 12 years, against the rate of inflation, NHS staff have actually taken a pay cut which when you think about it we are there 24 hours a day, seven days a week and we don’t get a day off and we work under the most intense pressures. That is why we have been pushed to ambulance strikes and we absolutely don’t want anyone to come to harm like I’ve said and we are still always and always will provide life threatening cover.”

via Instagram @paigethornex

One fan shared their support for Paige and said: “The way that the government treats the NHS workers makes me so mad! Good on her for standing her ground with what she believes in.”

Love Island 2023 continues at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX. For all the latest Love Island news and gossip and for the best memes and quizzes, like The Holy Church of Love Island on Facebook.

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• Being grabbed and heckled out in public, the women of Love Island face abuse every day

• Meet Sophia Peschisolido: Karren Brady’s influencer daughter who rejected Love Island

• There’s an older generation Love Island coming – here’s how to nominate your parents

Featured image credit via Instagram @paigethornex.