Industrial action updates

Trade unions representing NHS staff are in dispute with the government over the 2022/23 pay award.

A number of the unions have balloted their NHS members to take part in industrial action.

The NHS wants to see a resolution as soon as possible, but pay is a matter for the government and the trade unions.

Anyone who needs urgent care should use NHS111 online or call NHS 111 to be assessed and directed to the right care for them. When someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk, you should seek emergency care in the normal way, by calling 999 or attending A&E.

Everyone who has an appointment should attend as planned, unless your local NHS provider has contacted you to reschedule. If we have not contacted you, please attend your appointment.

Emergency care will continue to be available across all parts of the country. It is really important that in emergency and life-threatening cases – when someone is seriously ill or their life is at risk patients continue to come forward as normal.

GP services will be running as normal on strike days. Please continue to attend scheduled GP appointments.

The NHS will contact you if your appointment needs to be rescheduled due to strike action. This is likely to be a text, phone call or letter and you should be offered an alternative date for your appointment. If we have not contacted you, please attend your appointment as planned.

No, the NHS will contact you if your appointment needs to be rescheduled due to strike action.

No, if we have not contacted you, please attend your appointment as planned.

On strike days, patients should only call 999 if seriously ill or injured, and there is risk to life. Ambulances will be dispatched where clinically appropriate.

For all other health care needs support will be available through NHS 111 online, via the NHS 111 helpline or at your local GP or pharmacy.

The NHS.UK website has more information on when to call 999 and when to go to A&E.

Patients should only call 999 if seriously ill or injured, or there is risk to life. Ambulances will be dispatched where clinically appropriate.

Hospitals affected by strike action will provide details on which of their services are impacted on their individual websites.

All hospital inpatients will be informed of how their care will be impacted on a ward-by-ward basis by the staff involved in delivering their care.

Any appointments that need to be rescheduled will be done so as a priority.

Military personnel will be supporting NHS staff in a variety of ways, including by driving ambulances. They will not be providing any medical support.

They will be primarily focused on lower category emergency calls, for example falls, but they could be sent to higher priority cases too. If deployed to an emergency, the trained clinician can drive to the scene on blue lights, with the military driver driving to hospital under normal traffic laws. This means they will be required to observe the speed limit and stop at red lights. If there is need to transport a patient to hospital under emergency blue light conditions, then the crew will request back up.