With industrial action by resident doctors ongoing until 7am on Wednesday 30 July, patients in the East of England are being reminded to attend their planned appointments unless they are contacted to reschedule.

The latest strikes began on Friday 25 July, with hospitals and local NHS teams throughout the region working together to minimise disruption to patient care and ensure that life-saving services continue.

Primary and urgent and emergency care services continue to be available for those who need them.

During this period of industrial action, the public should use 111 online as the first port of call for urgent but not life-threatening issues so that they can be directed to the best place for their needs.

Patients who need emergency medical care should continue to use 999 or come forward to A&E as normal.

Adam Cayley, Chief Operating Officer for NHS England in the East, said:

“I’d like to thank NHS staff across the East of England for their incredibly hard work over the weekend in keeping NHS services going – and for their continued efforts in the days ahead.

“Whilst it is inevitable that strikes mean some appointments and procedures cannot go ahead as planned, it’s thanks to the huge efforts of NHS teams in the region that we are continuing to provide as many as we can.

“Our advice remains to please attend your appointment unless you have been contacted directly to reschedule. If it’s an emergency, you should dial 999 or attend your A&E as normal. Otherwise, you should use 111 online as your first port of call, or your local pharmacist or GP.”

Groups of resident doctors across the east are striking until 7am on Wednesday 30 July. This is the twelfth strike from resident doctors since March 2023, resulting in 49 days of disruption to NHS services – equivalent to almost ten working weeks of industrial action over this period.

Since strikes began at the end of 2022, the cumulative total of hospital appointments rescheduled in England is now close to 1.5 million (1,486,258) across the NHS.

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