Emergency care warning as thousands of NHS appointments cancelled due to strikes

Thousands of NHS appointments in England are expected to be cancelled this week as junior doctors stage a 72-hour walkout.

The strike will run from 7am on Wednesday (14 June) until 7am on Saturday (17 June) due to an ongoing dispute with the government over pay. It comes amid a warning over emergency care as NHS chiefs said the number of people needing urgent help will rise as the hot weather continues across the UK.

A swathe of the UK stretching from the North West to the South East of England has exceeded the threshold for a heatwave and temperatures in the mid-to-high 20s are forecast over the coming days, with London tipped to see 28C highs on Wednesday.

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS England’s national medical director, warned that almost all routine or pre-planned care could be impacted in some way by the latest strike as he urged people to take care in the hot weather.

He said: “The NHS is facing significant disruption this week with a three-day strike that is set to be exacerbated by the ongoing hot weather – with the number of people seeking emergency care increasing as temperatures rise.

“While thousands of appointments are likely to be rescheduled due to strike action, the NHS will continue to prioritise urgent and emergency care, but with the country in the midst of a heatwave, the public can play their part by being sensible in the warm weather.

“For the vulnerable and elderly, this includes drinking plenty of water, using sunscreen and avoiding prolonged periods in the sun or swimming in unsafe water – and please do also consider checking in on any vulnerable friends, family members or neighbours who may struggle with the heat and humidity. People with conditions such as asthma should continue to use their inhalers.”

The latest walkout is the third this year by junior doctors and is expected to cause mass disruption, with thousands of patients having their operations and appointments rescheduled while the overall NHS waiting list continues to grow.

Concerns have also been raised about staff as some consultants have said they would not provide strike cover unless their employers agreed to a higher overtime rate.

The British Medical Association (BMA) is calling for “full restoration” of pay, which it says has seen a 26% cut, and says the government has only offered 5% to end the dispute. Dr Vivek Trivedi and Dr Robert Laurenson, co-chairmen of the BMA Junior Doctors’ Committee, said in a statement: “Junior doctors are in despair at this Government’s refusal to listen.

“It should never have taken two whole rounds of strike action to even put a number on the table, and for that number to be a 5% pay offer – in a year of double-digit inflation, itself another pay cut – beggars belief.

“We have made clear that junior doctors are looking for the full restoration of our pay, which has seen a 26% cut. Junior doctors in England have seen their pay cut in real terms by more than a quarter over the last 15 years. Today they are demonstrating what that means to the survival of the NHS.”

A BMA poll of 1,935 junior doctors in England, published on Wednesday, found 53% are making plans to leave the NHS or are thinking about leaving as a result of the government’s response to strike action. Some 67% do not think the NHS in its current form will exist in 10 years and 88% expect the NHS to get worse over the next 18 months.

BMA chairman of council, Professor Philip Banfield, has written to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urging him to intervene to resolve the dispute. He said in the letter: “No doctor wants to strike.

“They have been forced to do so to try and get your government to listen and understand the realities of how desperate things have become on the frontline of the NHS… I urge you to listen to our doctors and to meet with me and our Junior Doctors’ Committee as soon as possible to find a way forward in this dispute.”

Meanwhile, Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said it was “extremely disappointing” the BMA was going ahead with further strike action and said doing so “will put patient safety and our efforts to cut waiting lists at risk”.

He added: “During recent meetings with representatives of the BMA Junior Doctors’ Committee, we made a fair and reasonable opening offer and were discussing both pay and non-pay issues until they chose to end the talks by announcing new strike dates.

“If the BMA cancels these damaging and disruptive strikes and shows willingness to move significantly from their position, we can resume confidential talks and find a way forward, as we have done with other unions.”

Doctors will join picket lines outside hospitals on Wednesday and the BMA is also holding rallies throughout the rest of the week, including in Oxford, Birmingham, London and Manchester.