NHS Industrial Action Update

What’s happening when?

Unions have announced a five-day, 120 hour, walkout of junior doctors from 7am on Thursday 13 July until 7am on Tuesday 18 July.

This action will be quickly followed by a 48 hour strike by hospital consultants from 7am on Thursday 20 July until 7am on Saturday,  22 July.

NHS Trusts across Cheshire and Merseyside are set to be severely impacted – with significant service disruption highly likely.

Almost half of all hospital doctors in the country are junior doctors – more than 50,000. A junior doctor is any medical graduate who is in further training and not yet qualified to practice independently without supervision.

You will see junior doctors working in almost every part of a busy hospital, including A&E where they might diagnose you or put you under anaesthetic, write prescriptions, support the process of admission and discharge, maintain the flow of patients through the hospital and ensure beds are available for those who need them the most.

They are also an important part of the teams for planned inpatient appointments, as well as outpatient clinics. The breadth and depth of what they do across the NHS means their absence creates further challenges.

Hospital consultants are the NHS’s most senior clinicians, who’s roles cannot be covered by other staff.

Strike action by Hospital consultants will still deliver Christmas Day levels of care– meaning emergency departments will still be open and staffed with consultants, but disruption and longer waits should be expected.

We are now entering the eighth month of industrial action across the NHS and staff continue to work hard to provide patients with the best possible care under the circumstances.

Please call NHS 111 if you need advice.

Where can I find out more?

• NHS Cheshire and Merseyside central webpage
• National NHS industrial action webpage – including responses to FAQs