NHS industrial action in Greater Manchester

• There will be a full walkout by junior doctors for three days from 7am on 20th December to 7am on 23rd December 2023
• This is then followed by a six-day full walkout by junior doctors from 7am on 3rd January to 7am on 9th January 2024.

Junior doctors are qualified doctors in clinical training and covers everyone from those who have recently graduated from medical school through to those with many years' experience. See the British Medical Association website for more information.

In hospitals, consultant cover will be in place during this time to maintain safe patient care, along with the normal number of nurses and allied health professionals, but the strikes will affect some operations, appointments, and clinics.

The impact is likely to be very challenging for local services, with Christmas and New Year a usual time of high-pressure across health and care, and many staff are on pre-arranged annual leave. We are expecting a challenging few days, with extended waits in our emergency departments. It may take longer than expected to be seen and treated for those patients who attend emergency departments, but do not have time-critical or life-threatening conditions.

How have we been planning for industrial action?

We have been managing the continued impact of strikes across the NHS for over a year now. The NHS in Greater Manchester has tried and tested plans in place to mitigate risks to patient safety and manage disruption due to industrial action.

We are working closely with our union colleagues to put in place robust plans to ensure continued provision of key services. There are no derogations in place with the exception being arrangements to recall staff in event of a mass casualty incident. Our emergency, urgent care and maternity services will be available for patients who need them. We are prioritising resources to protect emergency treatment, critical care, neonatal care, maternity, and trauma, and ensure we prioritise patients who have waited the longest for urgent elective care and some cancer surgery.

Hospital trusts will continue to do everything it can to go ahead with planned procedures – especially for patients in greatest clinical need – and will contact patients if an appointment needs to be rescheduled.

Patients should attend their appointment as planned if they have not been contacted. GP practices will be open during the junior doctors’ strike, but some will be more affected as they are training practices.

Patients can contact their GP in the usual way and should attend all appointments unless they hear directly from the practice not to attend.

Patients should also attend all dental appointments unless they hear otherwise.

We are working together with our local authority and voluntary sector partners to get people out of hospital as soon as is appropriate. Intensive work has taken place to support people into long-term placements ahead of the Christmas period.

Discharge coordinators are in place to help people returning to their own homes. We share information and advice with system partners to support public communications, and help reassure the public, as well as sign post people to services.

Important information:

• Outpatients and people coming to hospital for an operation or surgery should assume that unless they hear otherwise, scheduled appointments will go ahead as planned. However, some appointments and operations will be affected by the strike action. If this is the case, patients will hear from their hospital directly by letter, telephone, or text message if they need to cancel or reschedule their appointment.
• People do not need to contact their NHS service or team in advance, the team will contact patients directly if an appointment needs to be rescheduled.
• Local NHS services will be using their website and social media channels to provide up to date information to the public about local service disruption.
• People can support the NHS during the strike days by using the right health service to meet their needs. The NHS is asking patients to choose services appropriately 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 only using 999 if it is a life-threatening emergency.
• The NHS is also asking the public to play their part by taking simple steps during industrial action to look after themselves, loved ones and checking in on vulnerable family members and neighbours. Where possible, we advise people to have a wellstocked medicine cabinet, a first aid kit, and to order repeat prescriptions in good time, and ahead of travelling.
• To ensure we can free up beds for sick patients who are coming into our emergency departments, we ask anyone who has a loved one in hospital who is ready to come home, to come and collect them as soon as possible. The public can provide help to family and friends through assisting with transport and lifts, food shopping, supporting with meals and laundry, and being nearby should some additional help be needed.