The British Medical Association (BMA) has announced junior doctors will take strike action from 07:00 on Saturday 24 February to 23:59 on Wednesday 28 February. Ahead of the latest action, The BMA has advised their members that shifts that start on Wednesday 28 February and end on Thursday 29 February should be completed in full, including starting the shift on Wednesday 28 February.
Hospital Consultants and Specialists Assoc (HCSA) has announced that their junior doctor members will be on strike from 06:59 on Saturday 24 February until shifts starting after 0700 on Thursday 29 February.
This is part of an ongoing dispute between junior doctors and government.
Junior doctors make up 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, depending on their specialty, or up to three years in general practice.
During these strikes, other doctors (including consultants and other specialist doctors) will still be working. The NHS is working hard to ensure adequate staffing through the entirety of urgent care pathways, urgent elective cases, and other critical services. However, the disruption to staffing will cause a significant reduction in elective activity and this may mean some appointments and procedures may need to be rescheduled. We will only reschedule appointments and procedures where necessary and will re-book immediately, where possible. The BMA and HCSA have stated junior doctors will undertake a full withdrawal of labour. The NHS will be working closely with unions to discuss any patient safety concerns and ensure safe staffing for emergency care continues to be available.
If we have not contacted you, please attend your appointment as planned. The NHS will contact you if your appointment needs to be rescheduled due to strike action.
The NHS is asking patients to choose services appropriately 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 only using 999 if it is a serious or life-threatening emergency. For more information on when to call 999 and when to go to A&E, you can visit the NHS UK website.
GP practices will continue to be open during the junior doctors strike. Please continue to attend your GP and dental appointments, unless you are contacted and told otherwise.