Patients warned of disruption at Banbury's Horton General and Oxford hospitals as junior doctors continue strike action

Hospital bosses say they will continue to provide urgent and emergency care wherever possible but have had to reschedule some appointments for planned procedures across the Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) Trust.

Junior doctors – including those at OUH – are taking industrial action from 7am on Saturday, February 24 until midnight on Wednesday, February 28.

The junior doctors – all those qualified doctors who are not yet consultants – are asking for pay to be restored in line with inflation back to 2008 levels, when their pay was cut in real terms.

Disruption from next weekend is expected to patient appointments and waiting times at our A&E departments as well as before and after the industrial action.

A press statement said although the trust will continue to provide urgent and emergency care wherever possible, managers have had to reschedule some appointments and elective (planned) inpatient and day case procedures across the four hospitals in Oxford and Banbury to ensure patients who are currently in hospital are kept safe.

“All patients who are affected are being contacted directly. We never take this decision lightly and we appreciate and thank you for your co-operation. Anyone with a rescheduled appointment will be rebooked to the earliest possible date,” said the statement.

“Patients who have not heard from us by the day of their appointment should attend their procedure or appointment as planned. We are doing everything possible to prioritise patients with the highest clinical needs, including cancer and dialysis patients and those who have already waited a long time for their treatment.”

People can take simple steps to help ensure care is available to patients who need it most by using NHS 111 online, a local pharmacy, minor injuries unit or GP for all non-emergency healthcare needs.

Sara Randall, Chief Operating Officer at OUH, said: “As always, our priority is to keep patients safe during planned industrial action while delivering the best care possible.

“Our urgent and emergency care services are highly likely to be affected by the upcoming industrial action in terms of waiting times. Our Emergency Department colleagues are working exceptionally hard and have to prioritise patients who genuinely need emergency care.

“It is really important patients who need urgent medical care continue to come forward as normal, especially in emergency and life-threatening cases – when someone is seriously ill or injured, or their life is at risk.

"Staff are working extremely hard during a very challenging time – please do treat them with respect. There are no excuses for aggressive or abusive behaviour.

“Thank you for your understanding and co-operation during another period of industrial action."

Junior doctors say pay needs to be fair and competitive with other healthcare systems across the world to retain and recruit doctors and NHS staff to provide much-needed care.

In a BMA statement said they said: “We are frustrated, in despair and angry and we have voted clearly to say, ‘in the name of our profession, we can’t and we won’t take any further erosion of our pay.

“No doctor wants to take industrial action, but we have been given no choice. Doctors are already voting with their feet and leaving the NHS.”