The public across the South East are being asked to think ahead to ensure critical NHS services are available for those most in need, as preparations are made for the next round of industrial action.

The British Medical Association (BMA) has announced 120 hours of continuous junior doctors’ strike action from 7am on Thursday 13 July until 7am on Tuesday 18 July. The British Dental Association (BDA), BMA and Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) have announced that consultant doctors and dentists will be taking strike action for 48 hours from 7am on Thursday 20 July until 7am on Saturday 22 July.

During the two days of action, both BMA and BDA have advised that consultants will provide Christmas Day cover, meaning they will continue to provide all emergency services but planned and routine non-urgent care will be impacted.

NHS England’s South East Regional Medical Director, Dr Vaughan Lewis, said: “This latest round of industrial action by junior doctors is planned over five days so unfortunately we are likely to see more appointments disrupted. It is then followed closely by consultant strikes which will cause further disruption to planned care.

“I would like to thank the public for their help so far in using NHS services responsibly and appropriately during periods of strike action by healthcare staff and I ask people to continue to choose services wisely over the next week and to take simple steps to help ensure care is available to patients who need it most.

“This includes using 111 online as the first port of call for health needs, and only using 999 in a life-threatening emergency.”

The NHS is working hard to prioritise resources to protect emergency treatment, critical care, neonatal care, maternity, and trauma, and to ensure we prioritise patients who have waited the longest for elective care and cancer surgery. We will only reschedule appointments and procedures where necessary and will rebook immediately, where possible.

We are now entering the eighth month of industrial action across the NHS and staff continue to work hard to provide patients with the best possible care under the circumstances. Industrial action has impacted approximately 600,000 hospital appointments across the NHS with over 365,000 staff shifts interrupted by industrial action during this time.

Previous action by junior doctors saw between 21,000-24,000 staff off per day due to industrial action. The most recent industrial action by junior doctors in June saw 106,000 hospital appointments disrupted over three days across the country.

It is vital the public are aware of the pressure the health service will be under this week and there are many precautions which could be taken to help keep people well and avoid putting pressures on services ahead of industrial action.

GP practices will continue to be open during the junior doctors and consultants strikes. Please continue to attend your GP and dental appointments, unless you are contacted and told otherwise.

For more information on when to call 999 and when to go to A&E, you can visit the NHS UK website.

Ahead of the industrial action, the advice for anyone that is travelling to other areas is to:

• Make sure you have ordered and collected any repeat medicines, especially if you are travelling
• Remember that your first port of call for GP care is your home practice, which will be able to provide online, phone and video consultations as well as arranging for prescriptions to be sent to any pharmacy you choose.

We appreciate the public’s understanding and co-operation during this challenging period. Violence and abuse toward NHS personnel can have a devastating and lasting impact on their health and wellbeing; where it does occur, we advocate our staff are supported and perpetrators are held accountable for their actions.