A record six-day strike by Junior doctors will begin this week over an ongoing pay dispute with the government. The walk-out comes at a challenging time for NHS staff as they work hard to meet the surge in demand that Winter period brings.

Doctors will strike from 7am on Wednesday, 3 January through to 7am on 9 January. The six days of junior doctor strikes come quickly after the previous action which took place in December. Meaning that over the past three weeks, only two weekdays will have been unaffected by holidays or industrial action in the NHS.

The total of acute inpatient appointments cancelled due to the strikes which began in December 2022 now stands at 33,000 – with an additional 304,000 acute outpatient appointments cancelled due to the ongoing action over the past year.

Over the previous industrial action period, a three-day strike from 7am, 20 December to 7am, 23 Dec there were 25,366 cancellations of acute inpatient and outpatient appointments in London. At the peak of the action, 4,501 staff were not at work in the capital.

Junior doctors make up around 50 per cent of doctors in the NHS and, despite extensive planning and cover arrangements in place, the latest strikes by junior doctors are expected to cause significant widespread disruption.

Top doctors at the NHS in London are keen to stress that emergency care continues to be prioritised during the industrial action and people should still call 999 in life-threatening emergencies and contact NHS 111 for other health concerns, as well as local services including GPs and pharmacies.

Chris Streather, Regional Medical Director, NHS London said:

“We are fast approaching 340,000 appointments rescheduled over more than a year due to strikes. We’re continuing to see a massive cumulative impact on NHS services and our hard-working staff as they maintain safe patient services while tackling a record backlog.

“This time of year is always very busy for the NHS and six days is the longest time that doctors have gone on strike – but we’ve been planning extensively to ensure that people can still access care when they need it. It’s important that the public continue to use 999 and A&E in life-threatening emergencies.

“For everything else people should contact NHS 111 online, as well using local services like GPs and pharmacies for advice and care. If you haven’t been contacted or informed that your planned appointment has been postponed, please attend as normal.”

To mitigate some of the pressures that winter brings, NHS London began its winter vaccination programme early this year, to help ensure nearly 4.7 million eligible Londoners were protected from seasonal flu and the ongoing threat of Covid.

Public health experts continue to urge all those eligible for Covid or flu jabs, such as pregnant people, those over 65 and anyone who is immunosuppressed, to make sure they get vaccinated to protect themselves from serious illness. Those eligible for jabs can still talk to their GP or pharmacist about getting vaccinated.

People should still come forward to access the care they need in the usual way – in a life-threatening emergency, 999 and use A&E. For everything else, use 111 online. Pharmacies and GPs are unaffected by the strikes so patients can still get appointments and health advice.