Junior doctors' strike: longest walkout in NHS history begins with 'unprecedented' six-day strike as patients warned of disruption

A six-day walkout by junior doctors in England has begun, with patients warned by NHS bosses that the health service could be under immense pressure for the first few days of 2024.

The strike - the longest in NHS history - began at 7am on Wednesday January 3 and will last until 7am on Tuesday January 9. The action comes "in the grip of peak winter pressure", with the hospital bosses warning that it could lead to the "most difficult start to the year the NHS has ever faced".

Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “The longest-ever strike in NHS history will mean many more thousands of patients face delays and disruption. With the NHS in the grip of peak winter pressure throughout the system, this week’s strike by junior doctors couldn’t come at a worse time.

“Trusts have planned thoroughly to keep patients safe and to provide critical and emergency care but the scale of the challenge in an unprecedented six-day strike will be bigger than ever before. We need a speedy resolution to this dispute as we see the risk of industrial action by other staff returning in our health services.”

It comes as junior doctors' union British Medical Association (BMA) remain locked in tense negotiations with the government over pay. The BMA's Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi said in a statement: “We spent the holiday period hoping we would get the ‘final offer’ that the Health Secretary had promised us last year. Sadly, we have received no such offer despite repeatedly saying we would meet for talks any time over Christmas.

“We will continue to offer to meet throughout these coming strikes. All we need is a credible offer we can put to members and we can call off these strikes. This strike marks another unhappy record for the NHS – the longest single walkout in its history – but there is no need for any records to fall: we can call off this strike now if we get an offer from Government that we can put to members.”

Health and Social Care Secretary, Victoria Atkins, said: “January is typically the busiest time of the year for the NHS and these strikes will have a serious impact on patients across the country. Over 1.2 million appointments have already been rescheduled since industrial action began, including over 88,000 during last month’s strikes.

“The NHS has again put in place robust contingency plans to protect patient safety and it is vital anyone who needs medical help continues to come forward. I urge the BMA Junior Doctors Committee to call off their strikes and come back to the negotiating table so we can find a fair and reasonable solution to end the strikes once and for all.”