Health leaders in the North West are urging people to access NHS care wisely as services are expected to be severely impacted due to 72 hour strike action by hospital consultants and junior doctors, starting today (Monday 2 October).

For the second time, both consultants and junior doctors across the region will strike together from 7am Monday 2 October to 7am Thursday 5 October, bringing almost all routine care to a standstill. During this period, radiographers in Cheshire and Merseyside will also strike for 24 hours from 8am on Tuesday 3 October.

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 and emergency situations, and using 111 online for less-urgent health concerns. GPs and pharmacies can be used by the public for health advice and appointments as normal.

During this strike, hospitals will provide ‘Christmas day levels of staffing’ only, meaning that while emergency care will be provided, limited elective activity based on clinical urgency will take place on days of industrial action.

Consultants are senior doctors who not only see patients but are responsible for supervising junior doctors and other staff. When consultants strike, they stop delivering care directly or providing supervision of the work of junior staff. Without supervision it may not be possible for some care delivered by junior doctors or other staff to take place safely.

Dr Michael Gregory, Medical Director for NHS England – North West, said: “With both consultants and junior doctors striking at the same time, this period of industrial action will no doubt have a severe impact on our health and care system. A significant amount of planned care will be affected, and many services will have avoided scheduling planned appointments altogether. Thank you to the public for continuing to use NHS services wisely during industrial action.”

The last period of action saw 19,779 inpatient and outpatient appointments rescheduled in the North West. At the peak of the action, on Wednesday 20 September, there were 4,550 staff absent from work due to industrial action.

Dr Paula Cowan, Regional Medical Director for Primary Care for NHS England – North West is encouraging people to continue to come forward for NHS care when they need it. She said: “If you need medical help, don’t hesitate to come forward. Use 999 and A&E departments for emergency and life-threatening situations, and 111 online for less urgent health advice. Junior doctors also work in general practice so the overall impact of industrial action will also be felt across primary care. However if you have a health need please do contact your GP and local pharmacy for health advice and appointments. If you have an appointment scheduled, please continue to attend unless you are told otherwise.”

Using 111 online gives the same responses as the phone service but may give a quicker answer than contacting the phone line. In addition, community pharmacies offer a range of services and have a wealth of information and expertise if someone needs advice.

GP and pharmacy services will be available during industrial action, search online for ‘find a pharmacy’ or click Find a pharmacy – NHS (www.nhs.uk) for details.

Patients who haven’t been contacted or informed that their planned appointment has been postponed are also urged to attend as normal.

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