New junior doctor strikes underway as Midlands patients urged to use emergency services wisely
Patients in the West Midlands have been urged to use NHS services wisely as junior doctors begin a fifth round of strikes.
Junior doctors will commence strike action this morning, which will continue until 7am on Tuesday.
It will see some foundation Year 1 doctors who started their first roles after medical school just nine days ago join their colleagues in the walkout over pay.
Hospital consultants have also planned strike action for a period of 48 hours which will run from 7am on August 24 until 7am on August 26.
Bosses at the Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust have said the service will still be available for urgent and emergency care, but have urged patients to use it wisely.
Pharmacies, GP appointments, walk-in centres, minor injury units and urgent treatment centres will continue to be available in the region throughout the period of industrial action.
Dr Ananta Dave, chief medical officer for the NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board, said: "The NHS continues to face high demand and staff are working hard to provide patients with the best possible care during what is already a busy period of the summer in the NHS.
"During the upcoming industrial action, it is really important that patients who need urgent medical care continue to come forward as normal, especially in emergency and life-threatening cases. However, if it is non-life threatening, please think about which is the most appropriate service for your needs.
"If you need medical help or advice, you should contact NHS 111 in the first instance, and they will direct you to the most appropriate service for advice or treatment. This could include your local pharmacy, GP or a local urgent treatment centre.
"We’d like to thank people for their patience and their ongoing support by using NHS services appropriately."
Following a High Court ruling in July, concerns have been mounting over the impact of the strike, with the NHS no longer able use agency staff to fill in for striking staff, as was the case during previous strikes.
So far, almost 835,000 appointments have been postponed as a result of industrial action since December across the health service in England, according to NHS figures.
But NHS Confederation said the true level of disruption is being "masked" and, in a worst-case scenario, the number of cancellations could be double this number.
Dr Jonathan Odum, group chief medical officer for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, said: "Ahead of upcoming strike action, we are asking patients to please use NHS services wisely and to only use A&E departments and 999 for life-threatening emergencies to ensure care is available to patients who need it most.
"We do expect there to be an impact on some appointments and clinics but ask patients to continue to attend planned appointments unless you hear directly from the NHS to make new arrangements.
"We thank the public for their support, and we are also incredibly grateful to all of the health and care staff across the Black Country who are working tirelessly to ensure patients get the right treatment, as quickly as possible, in the right place."
The Department of Health and Social Care has said the pay rise given to junior doctors – a six per cent rise with an additional consolidated £1,250 increase, which the Government describes as an "average increase of around 8.8 per cent" – was "fair and reasonable".
Dr Matthew Lewis, University Hospitals of North Midlands (UHNM) medical director, added: "UHNM has detailed plans to deal with a range of disruptions, including industrial action.
"We have worked hard to ensure that we continue to provide safe and high quality care for our patients, who remain our highest priority throughout the industrial action."
The NHS has urged the public to continue to use 999 for life-threatening emergencies and 111 online for anything non-urgent.
Patients have been advised by the service to attend their appointment as usual unless they have been told that it is to be rescheduled.
