Junior doctors strike - advice for south Warwickshire patients needing care or visiting Warwick Hospital

WARWICK Hospital will continue to deal with emergencies and provide vital care during the four days of strike action by junior doctors.

South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust has advised patients to make sure they opt for the correct service in what is expected to be an exceptionally busy week for the NHS.

Junior doctors, led by the British Medical Association (BMA), will walk out from 6.59am tomorrow (Tuesday), returning to work at 7am on Saturday (15th April).

It is expected to be the most disruptive walkout in NHS history.

Chief executive of the NHS Confederation, Matthew Taylor, has said: “These strikes are going to have a catastrophic impact on the capacity of the NHS to recover services.

“The health service has to meet high levels of demand at the same time as making inroads into that huge backlog that built up before Covid, but then built up much more during Covid.

“That’s a tough thing to do at the best of times, it’s impossible to do when strikes are continuing.”

He added: “There’s no point hiding the fact that there will be risks to patients, risks to patient safety, risks to patient dignity, as we’re not able to provide the kind of care that we want to.”

Junior doctors, who make up about half of the doctors in the NHS, will be striking during an historically busy time for the service – at the end of a bank holiday weekend and during the Easter holidays when lots of staff are on annual leave.

SWFT has said patients should attend appointments unless otherwise advised and can help the NHS by choosing the right service, including:

NHS 111 (by phone) for urgent but not life-threatening medical problems and if you’re not sure what to do. Advice is also available from the NHS 111 online service.

Pharmacies for advice for a range of common conditions and minor injuries such as cystitis, skin rashes, aches and pains, coughs and colds, red eye, sinusitis, earaches and sore throats.

Stratford Hospital Minor Injuries Unit is open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between 9am-5pm.

A&E at Warwick Hospital if you need treatment for a serious accident and emergency, such as unconsciousness, heavy blood loss, suspected heart attack, stroke or broken bones.

The BMA has asked for a 35 per cent pay rise. It says this would bring junior doctor pay back to 2008 levels, and help resolve the recruitment and retention crisis.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay described the pay demand as “unrealistic” and said their strikes had been planned to “cause maximum disruption”.