NHS in Lincolnshire prioritising emergency care during junior doctors strike

Throughout the 72 hour strike, which will run until Thursday morning, the health and care system in the county is working closely together to protect services and where possible prioritise patients who have waited the longest for elective care and surgery.

“Despite this there will still be significant disruption as patients may face postponements to routine care and longer waits for some services,” explains Rebecca Neno, Deputy Director, System Delivery, NHS Lincolnshire ICB.

Junior doctors are qualified doctors and have anywhere up to eight years’ experience working as a hospital doctor, depending on their speciality, or up to three years in general practice.

“Junior doctors make up around half of the medical workforce, hence the significant impact of the strike.  However, our advice to people remains to use the NHS appropriately, as you usually would, but be aware we are very busy and you may have a long wait.”

“You will be contacted if your appointment needs to be rescheduled, otherwise you should attend it as planned.  Don’t forget to use NHS 111 online as the first port of call for urgent health needs and only use 999 for life-threatening emergencies.”