Junior doctors working across Hull and East Yorkshire will begin five days of industrial action later this week.
Members of the BMA and HCSA are set to begin their longest period of industrial action yet at 7am on Thursday 13 July. The 120 hour strike will run across the weekend and conclude at 7am on Tuesday 18 July.
Services across Hull Royal Infirmary, Castle Hill Hospital and Hull Women and Children’s Hospital are expected to be severely impacted by the action, as several hundred junior doctors have the potential to walk out.
Junior doctors are qualified doctors who have anywhere up to eight years’ experience working in hospitals. Accounting for half of all doctors in the NHS, they play a key role in the day-to-day running of hospital services and specialties.
Professor Makani Purva, Chief Medical Officer for Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust says:
“We are doing everything we can to ensure services can continue to be delivered safely throughout the upcoming strike period. However, five days of strike action by our junior doctors, closely followed by two days of action among our hospital consultants*, does place a significant amount of pressure on our staff and our services, certainly more than any previous action has to date.”
The Trust has committed once again to maintaining essential services such as trauma, critical care, neonatal and emergency care, but those considering using the Emergency Department during the strike are asked to do so only where there is a genuine threat to life or limb.
Professor Purva continues:
“We are reliant upon, and grateful for, the support of staff groups such as allied health professionals, advanced practitioners, specialist nursing staff and consultants stepping in to assist during the strike, but services will not be able to operate ‘business as usual’, especially over such a sustained period.
“For this reason, we would really urge members of the public to consider whether their healthcare needs can be met through community services such as urgent treatment centres, Story Street walk-in centre, local pharmacies or GP services, or with advice from NHS111 online or over the phone. Waits for emergency care will be lengthy, so the Emergency Department should only be used by those with a serious need, and patients could find themselves being redirected to other services where it’s appropriate to do so.
“Once again, the strike does regrettably mean we are having to rearrange some non-urgent work such as outpatient clinics and routine surgical procedures. We apologise for any inconvenience this causes and will look to reschedule all those who are affected as soon as possible.”
Patients with appointments currently scheduled to take place between 13th and 18th July are asked to attend as planned. In those cases where appointments need to be rearranged or changes made, a member of staff will be in touch with patients directly to discuss.
Alternative health services
Medical advice is always available, 24hrs per day, through NHS111 online at 111.nhs.uk or by calling 111, free of charge.
A list of local pharmacies can be found on the NHS website, while walk-in care and treatment for minor injuries is available from the following centres across Hull and East Yorkshire, all of which are open late into the evening or round-the-clock:
- Hull – Story Street walk-in centre
- Bransholme – Urgent Treatment Centre within Bransholme Health Centre, Goodhart Road (open 24hrs)
- Beverley – Urgent Treatment Centre within East Riding Community Hospital, Swinemoor Lane
- Goole – Urgent Treatment Centre within Goole & District Hospital, Woodland Avenue
- Bridlington – Urgent Treatment Centre within Bridlington Hospital (Entrance A), Bessingby Road
* The Trust has received notice from the BMA that its consultant members will also take industrial action for a period of 48 hours, beginning at 7am on Thursday 20th July and concluding at 7am on Saturday 22nd July.