Use health services 'wisely' during strike - NHS

Friday's industrial action will be the 13th walkout by doctors in the long-running dispute

People in Yorkshire needing medical attention have been asked to choose NHS services "wisely" ahead of planned industrial action by doctors.

A five-day walkout by resident doctors, the new name for junior doctors, is due to get under way on Friday morning after talks between the British Medical Association (BMA) and the government broke down.

NHS North East and Yorkshire said health trusts were putting measures in place to maintain care for those who needed it.

People should continue to use services as normal if they needed urgent medical care and patients should turn up for planned appointments unless they had been contacted to reschedule, NHS bosses said.

The long-running dispute between the BMA and the government has seen 12 previous walkouts.

Last week, the BMA rejected a fresh offer from Health Secretary Wes Streeting, including covering the cost of mandatory exams and membership fees to royal colleges.

The health secretary had also promised to expand the number of training places quicker than initially planned.

Streeting has maintained he would not negotiate on pay after resident doctors had received pay rises totalling nearly 30% in the past three years.

But the BMA has argued that, despite the pay rises, resident doctors' pay was still a fifth lower than it was in 2008, once inflation was taken into account.

Hospitals across Yorkshire say they will be prioritising patient safety

Resident doctors, who represent nearly half the medical workforce, were expected to walk out of emergency and routine care between 07:00 GMT on Friday and 07:00 GMT on Wednesday 19 November, with senior doctors brought in to cover.

All other NHS staff, including consultants and other specialist doctors, were expected to be working as usual.

Dr Hamish McLure, regional medical director for NHS North East and Yorkshire, said staff would work to ensure as many services as possible continued to operate safely.

"We're reminding people they should continue to use services as they normally would when they need urgent medical help – by using 999 and A&E in life-threatening emergencies only," he said.

Dr McLure said that for other health concerns, people should use the non-emergency NHS 111 service, GP services and pharmacies.

Saj Azeb, chief operating officer and deputy chief executive officer of Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said consultants and associate specialist doctors would be working differently during the strike to ensure patient safety was maintained.

"Throughout this week some elective care and outpatient appointments will be postponed and rearranged so we can ensure we can continue to run emergency care services," Mr Azeb said.

Dr Richard Robinson, from Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said he expected hospitals to be very busy

Meanwhile, Dr Richard Robinson, chief medical officer at The Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust, said staff had been planning for the action for some time.

"We are able to maintain the services we have across the majority of areas within the trust," he said.

The government has asked trusts to try to maintain 95% of elective planned care, and Dr Robinson said he expected that the Mid Yorkshire trust would deliver more than that.

"That's relying on a lot of people working very differently, and I am grateful to all colleagues across the trust who have worked tirelessly to enable that," he said.

However, Dr Robinson urged people to use NHS services "wisely" during the strike.

"We are here and open for business, but it is likely to be very busy over the next few days," he said.

'Prioritise life-saving care'

The NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board said patient safety was its "highest priority", and warned that hospitals and mental health trusts would be "significantly impacted" by the strike action.

The York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which includes Bridlington Hospital among its sites, said as fewer doctors than usual would be working, it would need to "prioritise life-saving care" and less urgent cases might experience longer waits.

A spokesperson for Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said given the strike action, people were being asked to only use A&E "in an emergency".

Matt Powls, interim group chief delivery officer for NHS Humber Health Partnership, said contingency plans had been put in place to minimise disruption.

"We'll be prioritising urgent and emergency care and cancer services, so those patients who need us the most, and patients staying with us as inpatients, will continue to receive care," he said.

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