The NHS in the Midlands is preparing for the first ever joint strike by consultants and junior doctors, which begins this week.

Consultants begin their strike action on Tuesday (19th) and will be joined by junior doctors on Wednesday (20th).

On Wednesday from 7am, both junior doctors and consultants will deliver Christmas day levels of staffing only, meaning that while emergency care will be provided, routine appointments may be postponed. Both groups will then strike on 2nd, 3rd and 4th October, again providing Christmas day cover.

Now in the tenth month of industrial action across the whole of the NHS, which has seen more than 885,000 inpatient and outpatient appointments rescheduled, staff continue to work hard to provide patients with the best possible care.

Ahead of the extensive action, the NHS is reminding the public that they should continue to use health services as they usually would – using 999 and A&E in life-threatening situations and using 111 online for other health concerns. GPs and pharmacies can be used by the public for health advice and appointments as normal.

Dr Colette Marshall, Regional Medical Director for Commissioning at NHS England in the Midlands, said: “The NHS has never seen this kind of industrial action in its history – this week’s first ever joint action will impact planned care and result in appointments being postponed, which is challenging for patients and their families, and equally challenging for colleagues across the NHS.

“We’re very grateful to the public for using the NHS wisely during this period when we will be prioritising emergency care.

“In a life-threatening situation, please use 999 and A&E as normal, but for everything else, use 111 online or use services in the community which are largely unaffected, like GPs and pharmacies.

“Patients who have an appointment and who haven’t been contacted should attend as normal.”

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NOTES FOR EDITORS:  Data on the impact of previous strike action can be found at the bottom of the following Industrial Action webpage