NHS Industrial Action

Information for the public on industrial action

The British Medical Association and Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association have announced junior doctors strikes running from 06:59 on Tuesday 11 April until 06:59 on Saturday 15 April. As these strikes are over a longer period, we expect GP practice and hospital services to be impacted.

Junior doctors make around half of all doctors in the NHS. Junior doctors are qualified doctors who have anywhere up to eight years’ experience working as a hospital doctor or up to three years in general practice.

The days leading into and immediately after bank holiday weekends are already challenging for the NHS.

Previous industrial action by junior doctors over three days saw 175,000 hospital appointments disrupted in England and as these strikes are over a longer period, we would expect a greater number of appointments to be impacted.

During strike action the NHS will prioritise resources to protect emergency treatment, critical care, neonatal care, and trauma, and ensure we prioritise patients who have waited the longest for elective care and cancer surgery. We will only cancel appointments and procedures where it is necessary and will reschedule immediately, where possible.

The NHS is asking patients to choose services wisely during industrial action and take simple steps to help ensure care is available to patients who need it most. This includes using 111 online as the first port of call for health needs and continuing to only use 999 if it is a life-threatening emergency.

Regardless of any strike action taking place, it is really important that patients who need urgent medical care continue to come forward as normal, especially in emergency and life-threatening cases - when someone is seriously ill or injured, or their life is at risk.

If you have not been contacted, please attend your appointment as planned. The NHS will contact you if your appointment needs to be rescheduled due to strike action.

GP practices will continue to be open during the junior doctors strike. Please continue to attend your booked appointments, unless you are contacted and told otherwise.

If you need medical help or advice, or you are unsure about whether you should go to hospital, go to NHS 111 online unless it is a life-threatening emergency when you should still call 999. Patients should only call 999 if it is a medical or mental health emergency [when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk].

For more information on when to call 999 and when to go to A&E, you can visit the NHS UK website.