Heatwave and junior doctors’ strike set to cause major disruption to NHS on Thursday | Bristol Live

NHS leaders have said the service is expecting “major disruption” as a result of the heatwave and junior doctors’ strike today (Thursday June 27). Yellow heat health alerts are in place in many parts of the country and will end at 5pm on Thursday, the day junior doctors across the country put down their stethoscopes and hold up placards.

It will be the 11th walkout by junior doctors from the British Medical Association (BMA) in England as the bitter pay dispute continues. While the weather will turn more inclement during the five-day strike, NHS bosses said the current heatwave was already putting pressure on the service.

In Bristol, both hospital trusts will be affected by the strikes, including the North Bristol Trust, which runs Southmead Hospital, where the Princess Royal is currently recovering after suffering minor head injuries after being kicked by a horse.

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Princess Anne’s husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, said his wife was “slowly recovering” following a hospital visit on Wednesday (June 25). The King’s sister, 73, has been in Southmead Hospital since Sunday night after suffering concussion and minor head injuries when she was hit by a horse while walking on her Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire.

Sir Tim left the main Brunel building in Southmead just before 2pm on Wednesday after spending two and a half hours with his wife. Asked if he would leave the hospital the same day, he said: “He’ll be out when he’s ready.”

He also thanked the doctors, nurses and emergency crew for their help, saying both he and Anne were “deeply grateful to the medical team and support staff at the hospital for their specialist care – and the emergency services who have were so wonderful on the spot.” .

Ahead of the strike, North Bristol Trust and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston said junior doctors who are members of the BMA will take strike action from 7am on Thursday (27 June) until 7am on Tuesday 2 July. A statement read: “Patient Safety is our top priority. We have tried and tested plans and are committed to keeping disruption from industrial action to a minimum.

Earlier this week, the charity Age UK urged people to look after older friends and neighbors, saying certain medical conditions can be exacerbated during a heatwave. NHS England said it expected the strike to cause “widespread disruption to routine care and difficulties with discharging patients”, despite extensive preparations.

On calls for some doctors to continue working during the walkout, BMA board chairman Professor Philip Banfield said: “Safe patient care has always been a priority for the BMA during rounds of industrial action; planned strikes so that older doctors provide cover during strike periods.

“That is why we have agreed with NHS England that a limited number of doctors will be able to work at six sites in London where the recent cyber attack has prevented access to life-saving operations. NHS England has expressed its concerns about the safety of patients in these hospitals, and we are delighted that we have been able to reach an agreement which means that this group of patients will not experience any further delays during the strike.”

Junior doctors make up half of the medical workforce and their latest walkout in February resulted in 91,048 appointments, procedures and operations being cancelled. NHS England’s national medical director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, said: “This new round of strikes will once again hit the NHS very hard, with almost all routine care likely to be affected and services under significant pressure.”

“While warmer weather may put additional pressure on services at a time when demand for services is already high. As always, we are working to ensure urgent and urgent care is a priority for patients, but there is no doubt that it is getting harder every time. it’s time to get routine services back on track after the strikes and the cumulative effect for patients, staff and the NHS as a whole is huge.”

“People should continue to use 999 in life-threatening emergencies and NHS 111 on the NHS app, online or by phone for other health issues. GP services and pharmacies are also available to patients and can be accessed as normal, and patients who have not been contacted or informed that their planned appointment has been postponed are also urged to attend as normal. “

The junior doctors said they would call off the strike if Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made a credible commitment to restore their pay. The BMA said junior doctors’ pay had been cut by more than a quarter since 2008.

Around 1.5 million appointments have been postponed since the start of the current wave of industrial action in the NHS in England in December 2022, which has included walkouts by junior doctors, consultants, paramedics, physiotherapists and other staff groups. The strikes are estimated to have cost the NHS around £3 billion.