Cliff Notes
- Strike Details: Resident doctors in England are on strike for five days, starting from 7am on 25 July, amid a dispute over pay with the BMA, potentially impacting emergency care.
- Patient Impact: While previous strikes led to approximately 1.5 million appointments being cancelled, hospitals are now advised to only cancel non-urgent care in “exceptional circumstances”.
- Public Sentiment: Support for the strikes is declining, with 52% of the UK population either opposing or strongly opposing the walkout, as per recent polling data.
Doctors go on strike for five days – here’s everything you need to know | UK News
NHS Doctors in England go on strike for five days from today – with warnings it could lead to patient harm in emergency departments.
It is the culmination of an escalating row between NHS bosses and the British Medical Association (BMA) over pay.
Here is everything you need to know about the strikes.
How long is the strike?
From 7am on Friday 25 July to 7am on Wednesday 30 July.
Who is striking?
Up to 50,000 resident doctors will walk out.
Resident doctors is the new name for junior doctors – it was changed to better reflect their responsibilities. Resident doctors are fully qualified doctors who are either currently in postgraduate training or gaining experience as locally employed doctors to become consultants, GPs or specialists.
Their title was changed after years of calls for the term “junior” to be retired, as it was seen as both misleading and demeaning.
General practice, community pharmacies, and dentistry are not impacted by the action.
How will it affect appointments?
During previous strikes, NHS England told trusts to cancel large volumes of non-urgent care so that consultants could step in to cover emergency care.
Previous rounds of industrial action – 11 walkouts over multiple days – saw an estimated 1.5 million appointments cancelled or rescheduled.
But under the leadership of new NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey, hospitals have now been instructed to cancel non-urgent work only in “exceptional circumstances” – and only with prior approval.
This suggests that much fewer planned appointments will be cancelled, although no exact figures have been given by either side.
The BMA has warned this new approach risks spreading doctors too thinly.
How will I know if my appointment has been cancelled?
Patients have been advised to “choose healthcare wisely” during the strike.
If your appointment has been cancelled, or rearranged, you will be contacted by the hospital directly. Priority will be given to patients with the most pressing health needs.