Now GPs suspend routine appointments for patients to deal with four-day NHS strike

GP practices are suspending routine patient appointments as the public is urged to “think twice before going to the emergency room” this week over fears the four-day strike will be the “most disruptive strike we have seen in the history of the NHS have seen’. that was reported last night.

Some NHS managers are also offering GPs thousands of pounds a day – or £200 an hour – to cover for emergency room doctors on strike from 7am on Tuesday.

The strikes, which will involve up to 47,600 medics in pursuit of a 35 percent pay rise, are believed to “completely overwhelm” the health service. This is believed to be because workers who joined earlier to cover shifts may have taken annual leave during the Easter break.

Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director for NHS England, urged the public to ‘think twice before going to the emergency room’ over fears that staff will not be able to cope during the young doctors’ strikes.

NHS England National Medical Director Professor Sir Stephen Powis who has warned four days of strikes by junior doctors next week will cause ‘unprecedented levels of disruption’

GP practices across the country told their patients to expect care to be disrupted, The Telegraph reported. Granville House Medical Center in Chorley said patient appointments will be managed on a daily basis, while Bacon Lane surgery in Edgware said urgent services would be prioritized. The St Austell Healthcare center in Cornwall began suspending appointments more than a week before the start of the strike, on March 31.

And the strikes could be lucrative for individual doctors, according to WhatsApp messages shared on Twitter. Daytime services were offered at £150 per hour rising to £200 at night. Hospitals seeking coverage included several major London hospitals, including Chelsea and Westminster, St Mary’s and West Middlesex.

While emergency care will be ‘priority’ during the action, the public is urged to use services ‘sensibly’.

“There will be extra pressure on emergency rooms, for example, because there are fewer staff there,” Sir Stephen told Times Radio.

“We ask the audience to think twice before you go. Of course, if it’s a serious illness, you have to go – that’s a very important message.

‘But use other services where available, such as pharmacies. Our priority is to keep patients safe. But services, as I said, will be vulnerable and we’ll see a lot of disruption.

‘And unfortunately a lot of rescheduling of agreements and procedures.’

A three-day strike by young doctors last month resulted in the cancellation of 175,000 appointments and surgeries, with up to 29,243 staff absent on each of the three days.

More than a quarter of a million cancellations are expected this week, including cancer services in some cases.

“I think this will be the most disruptive strike we’ve seen in the history of the NHS,” added Sir Stephen.

“Services will be vulnerable this week as a significant portion of the workforce is likely not to be there.”

The strike begins at 7am tomorrow and ends at 7am on Saturday, April 15 – the most extensive action on record.

More than a quarter of a million cancellations expected this week, including cancer care in some cases (file image)

Yesterday, Health Secretary Steve Barclay said the move was “militant” and timed to cause maximum disruption.

“Unfortunately, the decision by the British Medical Association junior doctors’ leaders to maintain an unrealistic position meant that we were unable to move forward with the talks,” the minister wrote in The Sunday Telegraph.

He added: ‘It appears they intend to take a militant stance rather than working with the government and NHS management to serve the best interests of their members and patients.’

Mr Barclay said a significant disruption was ‘inevitable’ and he was concerned that the strike would pose a ‘significant risk to patient safety’.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Health and Social Care said the BMA’s wage demand was “totally unreasonable and unaffordable” and urged the union to come to the table with a “realistic approach”.

He added: ‘We are working with NHS England to prepare contingency plans to protect patient safety. The NHS will prioritize resources to protect emergency treatment, critical care, neonatal care and trauma.”

In a statement yesterday, NHS England said appointments and surgeries would only be canceled ‘where unavoidable’ and patients would be offered alternative dates as soon as possible.