NHS England South East is urging people to think before heading to emergency departments and to use NHS 111 online as the first point of contact for non-emergency health needs during the upcoming resident doctors’ strike.
Thousands of resident doctors, previously known as junior doctors, will walk out from 7am tomorrow ( 17 December) until 7am on Monday 22 December, following a six-day strike in November.
The NHS says the action comes at a time when hospitals are already under intense pressure, with rising flu cases and winter demand stretching services.
Last week, 200 more patients were admitted with flu compared to the same period last year, and a third of acute trusts across the South East have reintroduced mask wearing in hospitals to help curb infections.
Patients are reminded to use NHS 111 online for urgent but non-life-threatening issues, to call 999 or attend emergency departments only in emergencies and to attend scheduled appointments as normal unless contacted otherwise.
Dr Christopher Tibbs, Medical Director for NHS South East, said: “We are all too aware that industrial action comes at a real cost to both NHS staff and patients, with this latest round coming at an incredibly challenging time for the health service as we grapple with rising flu cases and winter pressures.
“Hospitals and General Practice across the region will do everything they can to minimise disruption to services during this time and ensure as much planned care as possible continues for patients.”
The five day strike is part of a long-running dispute over pay and working conditions.
The British Medical Association says the Government’s latest offer moved forwards on jobs but not on headline pay.
BMA resident doctor members voted by 83% to 17% to carry on with strike action. Turnout was 65% of resident doctor members.
BMA resident doctors committee (RDC) chair Dr Jack Fletcher said: “Our members have considered the Government’s offer, and their resounding response should leave the Health Secretary in no doubt about how badly he has just fumbled his opportunity to end industrial action. Tens of thousands of frontline doctors have come together to say ‘no’ to what is clearly too little, too late.
“We remain committed to ensuring patient safety, as we have done with all previous rounds of strike action, and urge hospital trusts to continue planning to ensure safe staffing. We will be in close contact with NHS England throughout the strikes to address safety concerns if they arise.”
I do find it amusing how the non-industrial, unproductive, university educated have commandeered the language of the productive, scythe or hammer welding manual workers of the working class to describe their petulant foot stamping. “Industrial action” it is very definitely not! Any miner, agricultural worker or assembly line worker will tell them so.
Strike action is only effective in the profit driven Private Sector. Where loss of production decreases profit for the entrepreneur. In the Public Sector it is a gift for the employer. As profit does not exist and the wage and pensions bills are decreased.
The Immature Doctors have obviously not taken the Public’s economic temperature.
How much have the politicians as usual bitching about them had in the last decade? An over 36% pay rise of nearly 30 grand for doing an awful job & many of them as we have seen also filling their pockets with ‘freebies’ from the super rich in return for government contracts/tax relief etc.
The pay rise they are offering is something like 47 pence per hour-total joke. As usual people should remember who the actual enemy making their lives harder is-those toffs running the country, not the train drivers, doctors & nurses often earning less than half what an MP on tv blaming them for everything wrong with the country does.
They have taken the public temperature-the government, the opposition & politicians generally have a popularity that is in the toilet. Most people have finally woken up to the fact of who has ruined the country & it isn’t the unions, NHS staff, railway staff etc.
You are obviously very well educated were you by any chance a doctor?
Harry Webb- do you think that doctors do no manual work?
Well said, Mrs. Dover.
I wouldn’t want my doctor (etc) worrying about how they’re going to make ends meet because their pay has been slowly decreasing (in real terms) for however long.
Tax billionaires, support public workers.
I agree Ian. Doctors work long hours in often very testing and distressing circumstances. Their training is long, arduous and very expensive. I want to see decent housing and an okay standard of living for all. But when I see a doctor I would like to think that they are as level-headed and focused as they can be rather than preoccupied by debt, living on junk food and going home to sub-standard housing with little chance of securing a home of their own.
I’ve met well-established doctors who seem to be rolling in it, but recent generations of doctors often lack the basic levels of comfort and security that help promote dedication to their patients and their own good health.
Has something changed? My surgery said the doctors don’t work after 4:pm