Industrial Action taking place for BMA Consultants and Junior Doctors
Updated: 29 September, 2023
Junior doctors and consultants in England will jointly undertake strike action from 7:00am on Monday 2 October until 7:00am on Thursday 5 October.
Both junior doctors and consultants from the British Medical Association (BMA) will be taking part in coordinated action, with a full walk-out of services across the three days.
At Milton Keynes University Hospital
There is no change to urgent and emergency care. If your condition is serious or life threatening, call 999 or go to the Emergency Department. If you need medical help on these days but it’s not serious or life-threatening, please contact your GP, visit your local pharmacist, call 111 or consult www.nhs.uk.
Due to the expected increased pressures on the hospital during this time, waiting times may be longer than usual and elective (planned) care appointments (including operations, procedures, and outpatient clinics) will be postponed and rearranged for a different date.
If you have a planned operation, procedure, or outpatient appointment on, Monday 2 October – Thursday 5 October, we will contact you if it needs to be rearranged. If you have not been contacted, please attend as planned.
Full details of the impact at MKUH will be shared on our website and across our social media channels.
In all cases priority will be given to those patients with the most pressing health needs.
The hospital’s advice is:
- If you have a planned operation, procedure, or outpatient appointment on Monday to Thursday, we will contact you by letter if it needs to be rearranged.
- If your condition is serious or life threatening, call 999 or go to Accident and Emergency
- If you need medical help on these days but it’s not serious or life-threatening, please contact your GP, visit your local pharmacist, call 111 or consult www.nhs.uk.
The NHS nationally has been working closely with the BMA to ensure patient safety is effectively maintained during this action and have committed to providing emergency services in line with that in place on Christmas Day. This means that priority will be given to those patients who require urgent and emergency care, as well as critical care, neonatal care, maternity services, and trauma.
Teams across the hospital have been working extremely hard to minimise the disruption to patients and during this period of industrial action, our dedicated colleagues will be doing everything they can to ensure our patients receive the treatment they need as best as possible so please do continue to treat them with respect.
Full details of the impact at MKUH will be shared on our website and across our social media channels.
Frequently asked questions
What is happening?
Trade unions representing NHS staff are in dispute with the Government over the 2022/2023 pay award. A number of the unions have balloted their NHS members to take part in industrial action. Continuous strike action is expected to take place on Tuesday 19 – Saturday 23 September.
The NHS wants to see a resolution as soon as possible but pay is a matter for the Government and the trade unions.
What if I need urgent or emergency care?
Anyone who needs urgent care should use NHS111 online or call NHS 111 to be assessed and directed to the right care for them. When someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk, you should seek emergency care in the normal way, by calling 999 or attending A&E.
What if I have an appointment on strike days?
Everyone who has an appointment should attend as planned, unless we have contacted you to reschedule. If we have not contacted you, please attend your appointment as normal. If your appointment has been postponed and you were due to come into hospital using patient transport ambulance services, please let them know.
Will emergency care be affected on strike days?
Emergency care will continue to be available across all parts of the country. It is really important that in emergency and life-threatening cases – when someone is seriously ill, or their life is at risk, patients continue to come forward as normal.
Will GP services be affected on strike days?
GP services will be running as normal on strike days. Please continue to attend scheduled GP appointments.
When will I find out if my appointment is rescheduled?
We will contact you if your appointment needs to be rescheduled due to strike action. This will be via phone call. Following the initial cancellation, we will be in contact with you to offer an alternative date for your appointment.
Is there anything I should do now?
No. We will contact you if your appointment needs to be rescheduled due to strike action.
Should I cancel my appointment on the day of strikes?
No, if we have not contacted you, please attend your appointment as planned. If you are not sure if your appointment is going ahead, please contact the clinic / department in your letter.
Last Modified: 11:17am 29/09/2023
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