The East Lancashire Hospital Trust (ELHT) has warned of disruption as junior doctor strikes continue.

Junior doctors at the NHS in Lancashire and South Cumbria started strike action on Saturday, February 24. It is set to last until Wednesday, February 28.

Services across all of the region’s hospitals will be directly impacted, meaning increased waiting times and a number of appointments expected to be rescheduled.

Members of the British Medical Association (BMA) will stage a full walkout from not until 11.59pm on Wednesday 28 February, while members of the The Hospital Doctors' Union will continue their action until 7am the following day.

Dr David Levy, medical director at NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board, which organises health services for the region, said: “The NHS has now been affected by industrial action for more than a year, but the strikes are still having a huge impact on our hospitals and across the wider system.

“This latest strike comes at a time when hospitals are still dealing with severe winter pressures.
“We are working hard to ensure that we can continue to provide emergency and life-preserving services over these five days, but strikes mean there are fewer doctors available at every hospital, so routine care for many patients will be delayed and some non-urgent appointments and procedures will inevitably be postponed.

“We always want people to use services wisely and appropriately. This is even more imperative during strike action.

“Those who need urgent medical care should continue to call 999 or attend A&E as normal, especially in emergency and life-threatening cases when someone is seriously ill or injured, or their life is at risk. Please use NHS 111 online for all non-emergency healthcare needs.”

A spokesperson for the ELHT, which manages Royal Blackburn, Burnley General, Accrington Victoria and Pendle Community hospitals, said: “If you need medical help, please 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 serious or life-threatening emergency. For more information on when to call 999 and when to go to A&E, you can visit the NHS UK website.”

This will be the 10th round of junior doctor strikes since March 2023, and follows a six-day strike last month that was the longest in NHS history.

Nearly half of NHS doctors are junior doctors – from those just qualified from university through to doctors with eight years or more of experience.

The NHS will contact patients directly if operations or appointments need to be rescheduled. However, if you have a hospital appointment on these days, please assume this is going ahead unless you have been told otherwise.

GP practices will continue to be open as normal during the strikes.