The next planned industrial action from the British Medical Association (BMA), British Dental Assocition (BDA) and Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HSCA) have announced 120 hours of continuous junior doctors’ strike action from 07:00 on Friday 11 August until 07:00 on Tuesday 15 August 2023.
Lots of careful planning is taking place, however it is anticipated that both routine and emergency care are likely to be significantly affected.
In order to prioritise life-saving emergency treatment for people who need it, hospitals are highly likely to postpone some non-urgent operations, treatments and routine appointments. Where this is the case, patients will be contacted directly.
Unfortunately, we are aware that this will have a detrimental knock-on effect on local waiting times for planned care.
The NHS in mid and south Essex will be working hard to keep people safe during the planned strikes, while delivering the best care possible.
“The local NHS will be under greater pressure than usual during this time, but we are committed to keeping disruption to services to a minimum. Our focus is on providing safe care for patients who need urgent and emergency services, and those receiving inpatient care in our hospitals.
You’ll be contacted if your appointment needs to be changed, so please turn up as usual if you are not contacted. We know how disappointing it will be for patients who have their appointments rescheduled and all efforts will be made to rearrange the appointments as quickly as possible.
GP practices will also be without junior doctors during the industrial action. Please be patient with practice teams as they try get through large volumes of calls and prioritise care accordingly.
If you need medical help or advice, please use the NHS symptom checker at nhs.uk or visit NHS 111 online in the first instance unless it is a life-threatening emergency when you should still call 999 or go to A&E.
Local pharmacies are also great source of help and advice and residents do not need an appointment to speak with a pharmacist.”
Dr Anna Davey, GP and Primary Care Partner member for NHS Mid and South Essex said:
For more information, please visit the www.midandsouthessex.ICS.nhs.uk or the national NHS website www.nhs.uk