Londoners are being warned to take extra care in the hot weather when junior doctors walk out for three days this week - amid a heatwave that has led to health alerts in the capital.
The NHS in London says soaring temperatures are expected to compound pressure caused by the industrial action, leaving its services “extremely busy” during the 72-hour strike.
Junior doctors in England are to strike from 7am Wednesday to 7am Saturday, in an ongoing dispute over pay.
Dr Chris Streather, Medical Director for the NHS in London, asked Londoners to “use services wisely” and to take extra precautions in the heat, to save unnecessary A&E visits.
“The NHS in London has been preparing extensively for the next set of strikes, but with a significant proportion of our workforce not working, as well as the hot weather, we’re expecting our emergency services to be extremely busy,” he said.
“For this reason, it’s important that Londoners use our services wisely, using NHS 111 online as well as local services like general practice and pharmacies as first points of call for care, but people should always use 999 in a life-threatening emergency.
“And of course we want people to enjoy the hot weather but enjoy it safely, by keeping hydrated, staying protected from the sun and keeping your home nice and cool. No one wants an avoidable trip to A&E.”
The NHS is prioritising resources such as emergency and critical care, maternity care and, where possible, patients who have faced long waits for elective care and cancer surgery.
But with junior doctors making up around half of all doctors in the NHS, it warns some hospital services will be busier during the strikes.
People who need care should still access the care they need in the usual way, the NHS says – only using 999 and A&E in life-threatening emergencies and using NHS 111 online and other services for non-urgent health needs. Pharmacies and GPs will be largely unaffected by the strikes, so will be available for appointments and health advice.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and Met Office currently have nine heat health alerts in place.
Five regions are under amber alerts while four, including London, are under a yellow alert. A yellow alert means “increased use of health care services by vulnerable populations” is likely, while those aged 65 and above and those with health conditions are at heightened risk.
The warnings are in place until 9am on Tuesday, but temperatures are expected to remain in the high 20s throughout the week in London.
It follows a weekend of scorching temperatures that saw the mercury hit 32C at Kew Gardens in south-west London on Sunday, and much of the UK hotter than Monaco and the French riviera.
The British Medical Association (BMA) announced the upcoming 72-hour strike last month, in response to the Government’s “paltry” five per cent pay increase offer.
“The Government know this is not a credible offer, it’s a delaying tactic. They’ve left us with no option but to return to the picket lines,” said the BMA’s junior doctors’ group on Twitter. “When ministers are ready to address pay restoration and make a credible offer, we’ll be ready to talk. They can end this dispute tomorrow.”
Junior doctors previously went on strike for four days in April, when nearly 200,000 hospital appointments and procedures in England had to be rescheduled.
Before that, they walked out for three consecutive days from March 13, causing more than 175,000 operations and procedures to be cancelled.
Meanwhile Dr Rob Laurenson, co-chairman of the BMA junior doctors committee, warned the strikes could last until March 2024 or beyond.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson previously said: “We hugely value the work of junior doctors and we have been clear that supporting and retaining the NHS workforce is one of our main priorities. As part of a multi-year deal we agreed with the BMA, junior doctors’ pay has increased by a cumulative 8.2 per cent since 2019/20. We also introduced a higher pay band for the most experienced staff and increased rates for night shifts.
“The Health and Social Care Secretary has met with the BMA and other medical unions to discuss pay, conditions and workload. He’s been clear he wants to continue discussing how we can make the NHS a better place to work for all.”
