NHS leaders in Birmingham have alerted patients to expect 'significant disruption' when resident doctors launch a fresh wave of strikes next week. The industrial action, organized by the British Medical Association (BMA), is set to run from 7am on Monday, June 15, until 6:59am on Friday, June 19.
Impact on Hospital Services
University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) NHS Trust confirmed that teams are working diligently to reduce the impact of the walkout. However, they acknowledged that the strikes will inevitably cause disruption and may have longer-term effects on services due to the extra resources needed to maintain safe operations.
This latest action follows previous strikes in July, October, and December of last year, as well as one in April this year. The BMA represents resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, in their ongoing dispute over pay.
Advice for Patients
UHB emphasized that patients with planned appointments will be notified if their care needs to be rescheduled. Those not contacted should attend as usual. For emergency care, the trust urges people to use NHS 111 online or the NHS App for assessment, or call 111 if they lack internet access. In life-threatening situations, patients should call 999 immediately.
A spokesperson for UHB stated: 'The strikes announced cover resident doctors across the NHS, meaning action will impact every hospital in England. We are working hard to minimize the impact on patients, but this will inevitably cause disruption during the strike period and is likely to have a longer-term impact on our services.'
During the strikes, all other NHS staff, including consultants, GPs, and specialist doctors, will continue working. The trust stressed that patients should not delay seeking urgent care or miss appointments unless instructed otherwise.
