Guidance for patients as six days of industrial action by junior doctors gets under way

Routine appointments and planned operations may face disruption during six days of industrial action across the NHS.

Junior doctors, who make up around half of all doctors in the NHS, began a strike at 7am on 3^rd January that lasts until  7am on 9^th January.

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust is focused on minimising any issues and providing safe care to all who need it.

If we have not contacted you, please attend your appointment as planned. The Trust will contact you if your appointment needs to be rescheduled.

Members of the public are asked to help us by ensuring they choose the right healthcare service for their needs.

Urgent and emergency services will continue to be provided, although the NHS is asking patients 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 for an emergency.

Gaby Harris,  Chief Operating Officer at UHCW NHS Trust, said: “The new year period is always busy for the NHS, taking care of those with winter illnesses and other health conditions, and this latest industrial action will put us under extreme pressure.

“Our staff are working really hard to ensure as many patient appointments go ahead as possible, but there will inevitably be unavoidable disruption and we apologise to anyone impacted as a result.

“We will be prioritising urgent and emergency care to protect patient safety and ensure those in most need can receive the best possible care.

“It is really important that patients who need urgent medical care continue to come forward as normal, especially in emergency and life-threatening cases.

“We thank people for their ongoing support and patience.”

Consultants and specialist doctors will still be working and GP practices will continue to be open.

For support and advice on when to call 999 and when to go to A&E, please click on the relevant links.