The NHS England North West’s health leaders are reminding people to ensure they use services wisely ahead of the next period of industrial action by junior doctors this week.

The three-day walkout of junior doctors, from Wednesday, June 14th to Saturday, June 17^th, comes as new data showed that A&Es across the country have just experienced the busiest May on record

Dr Paula Cowan, a GP who is also the Regional Director for Primary Care across the North West, said it was important to use services wisely during what is expected to be a very busy period.

“The junior doctors’ industrial action will create significant challenges for the NHS and it is vital the public are aware of the pressure the health service will be under and know the best way to access care during that time,” she said.

“The impact of previous industrial action was significant. Junior doctors work in all areas of hospital services as well as primary care services.

“We are now entering the seventh month of industrial action across the NHS and this has a cumulative impact on staff who have gone above and beyond to maintain safe patient services during a challenging period.”

She went on to say that the public’s support during previous periods of industrial action has been invaluable and she was immensely grateful to them for continuing to use NHS services appropriately during these times of pressure.

“Urgent and emergency care services will be open during the industrial action period and people should call 999 or attend accident and emergency services in the event of a life or limb threatening emergency,” she added.

“Regardless of any strike action taking place, it is really important that patients who need urgent medical care continue to come forward as normal, especially in emergency and life-threatening cases – when someone is seriously ill or injured, or their life is at risk.”

Regional Medical Director Dr Michael Gregory added that if anyone needs medical help or advice, or are unsure about whether they should go to hospital, NHS 111 online is a great way to find out how to access services. People should still call 999 if it is a life-threatening emergency.

“During the period of the industrial action, it is more important than ever that the public know to make NHS 111 Online (www.111.nhs.uk) their first port of call for non-emergency health needs,” he said.

“During strike action we will prioritise resources to protect emergency treatment, critical care, neonatal care, and trauma, and ensure we prioritise patients who have waited the longest for elective care and cancer surgery. We will only cancel appointments and procedures where it is necessary and will reschedule immediately, where possible. 

“The NHS is continuing to deliver planned care where possible, especially for patients in greatest clinical need, and we would urge the public to please attend your appointment as planned. The NHS will contact you if your appointment needs to be rescheduled due to strike action.”

If a relative or friend is due to be discharged from hospital and needs to be collected, please do whatever you can to help bring them home as early as possible. This will help our teams to free-up a hospital bed for someone waiting to be admitted.

The public are reminded to continue to attend appointments, unless contacted and told otherwise.

“Local NHS services will be using their website and social media channels to provide up to date information to the public about local service disruption,” added Dr Gregory.