Dorset hospitals face tough New Year amid record strike action
Junior Doctors are taking industrial action for seven consecutive days
NHS services in the South West, including Dorset County Hospital, are facing one of the toughest starts to a New Year in history amid record industrial action.
Junior Doctors are walking out once again, but this time it will be the longest ever consecutive strike action in NHS history, lasting seven days.
Their strike action started this morning (Wednesday 3rd January ) at 7.00am and runs until 7.00am next Tuesday (9th January), and is set to have a major impact on almost all routine care as consultants cover.
They also took three days of action before Christmas, which led to the cancellation of thousands of appointments.
The NHS will be prioritising urgent and emergency cases during this period.
In a statement, Dorset County Hospital bosses said:
"Our junior doctors are vital for patient care and the running of our hospital services. During their industrial action, some medically-led activity will be postponed to ensure that we can provide safe emergency and inpatient care. You will hear directly from us if we have to rearrange your appointment - if you don't hear from us please attend as planned.
"No-one should put off seeking urgent or emergency care during the strikes and people with serious, life-threatening conditions will continue to be seen at our Emergency Department (ED). However, please keep 999 and ED clear for life-threatening emergencies.
"Please visit NHS 111 online or call 111 for other urgent care needs."
There's a similar message from University Hospitals Dorset:
The industrial action also adds more pressure to NHS services during a winter period already stretched thanks to seasonal illnesses like covid and flu, with a spread of infection anticipated following the Christmas and New Year celebrations, where many were mixing socially.
The most recent data suggests that the number of people hospitalised with flu has jumped to an average of 942 each day last week - six times the number of the week prior.
Medical Director for NHS England in the South West, Dr Michael Marsh, said:
"January is always one of the most pressured times for the NHS. Six days of industrial action on top of an already busy time will make it extremely challenging for hospitals to maintain safe services this week.
“We have to ensure that we can provide safe care for people in urgent and emergency situations, which will mean significant disruption to routine care.
“People should still use 999 in life-threatening emergencies, but for everything else people should contact NHS 111 online or by phone in the first instance. GP services and pharmacies are also available for patients and can be accessed in the normal way.
“Hospitals are contacting people directly if their appointment or operation needs to be postponed. If you have an appointment and haven’t been contacted please attend as normal.”