Junior doctors across England are expected to take further strike action from 7am on Wednesday 20 December until 7am on Saturday 23 December, causing widespread disruption to planned operations and emergency care, just days before the start of the festive season.

This comes amid record demand across the country for emergency care, recent rises of winter viruses in hospitals such as flu, norovirus and Covid, and at a time when some NHS staff would traditionally take annual leave to enjoy a well-earned break with family and friends.

Junior doctors make up around half of all doctors in the NHS and are qualified doctors who have anywhere up to eight years’ experience working as a hospital doctor, depending on their specialty, or up to three years in general practice.

The NHS has been affected by industrial action for more than a year, with staff continuing to work hard to provide patients with the best possible care under challenging circumstances.

Nationally, industrial action has impacted more than a million acute inpatient and outpatient appointments across the NHS. In the east of England, when junior doctors took industrial action over three days in June there were almost 15,000 inpatient and outpatient appointments disrupted, during which up to 2,116 members of staff were not working each day.

Appointments and operations will only be cancelled where unavoidable and patients should still come forward unless they are contacted. Where appointments are cancelled, patients will be offered an alternative date as soon as possible.

 Dr Edward Morris, regional medical director for the NHS in the east of England, said: “The Christmas period is always busy for the NHS, taking care of those with winter illnesses and other health conditions, but these latest strikes will put us under extreme pressure. This ongoing, unresolved industrial action between the government and junior doctors continues to severely impact patients and staff.

“Hospital staff are working really hard to ensure as many patient appointments go ahead as possible during this strike, but unfortunately there will inevitably be significant disruption. We will be prioritising urgent and emergency care to protect patient safety and ensure those in life-saving emergencies can receive the best possible care.

“To help us through this period, please use NHS services wisely in the usual way – by using the online service or calling 111 for everything other than life and limb threatening situations. Community services like pharmacies and GPs also continue to provide expert advice and support during this time.

If you haven’t been told your appointment is cancelled, please continue to attend as planned.

Further industrial action is planned by the unions representing junior doctors early next year, from 7am on 3 January 2024 to 7am on 9 January 2024.

For more information contact: england.eastcommunications@nhs.net

ENDS