The NHS in Birmingham and Solihull is asking patients to choose services wisely, in response to the ongoing industrial action across the country.

The British Medical Association (BMA) and the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) have announced junior doctors strikes running from 06:59 on Tuesday 11 April until 06:59 on Saturday 15 April. This is four days of strikes coming immediately after a 4 day bank holiday weekend.

The industrial action is expected to result in significant impact on health services across Birmingham and Solihull, including at University Hospitals Birmingham, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s, Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health, Birmingham Community Healthcare, the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital and in local GP practices.

Partners have come together to reassure patients that services are still available so should be attended as normal, but to expect longer waiting times than they may be used to.

If you are booked for an appointment, procedure or operation during these days which needs to be postponed, you will be contacted to confirm this and a new date will be arranged for you. If no one has contacted you, please attend your appointment as planned.

Members of the public are also asked to consider which services they use during the strike action, to help reduce unnecessary demand on our urgent care services.

GP practices will continue to be open during the junior doctors strike. Please continue to attend your GP and dental appointments, unless you are contacted and told otherwise.

Patients are reminded of the following options:

  • Local pharmacies for minor health concerns
  • NHS 111 or 111.nhs.uk for urgent issues or if you are unsure of what service might be best for your condition
  • Your GP practice for ongoing or non-urgent health problems.

However, any patient requiring emergency medical care should continue to access services as they usually would, especially when someone is seriously ill or injured, or their life is at risk.

Dr Clara Day, Chief Medical Officer at NHS Birmingham and Solihull, said:

“During strike action we will prioritise resources to protect emergency treatment, critical care, neonatal care, maternity, and trauma, and ensure we prioritise patients who have waited the longest for elective care and cancer surgery.

“It is really important that patients who need urgent medical care continue to come forward as normal, especially in emergency and life-threatening cases. The NHS is asking patients to choose services wisely during industrial action and take simple steps to help ensure care is available to patients who need it most. This includes using 111 online as the first port of call for health needs and continuing to only use 999 if it is a life-threatening emergency.

“Our staff will be working tirelessly throughout this period of industrial action to ensure patients get the right treatment, as quickly as possible, in the right place. We ask that you are understanding as we navigate the impact of the action, and encourage you to make the best choices for your condition, especially over the coming days. We also recognise that some patients may be frustrated by longer waiting times, or where appointments or procedures have needed to be rearranged. We apologise for any inconvenience - these are difficult decisions which have had to be made to ensure our services can continue to see those with the most urgent conditions, and we would like to assure patients that the NHS in Birmingham and Solihull is working very hard to minimise impact where possible.”