Junior Doctors’ Strike set to hit Bucks

The NHS in Buckinghamshire is preparing for significant disruption as resident doctors (formerly known as junior doctors) begin five days of national strike action starting at 7am on Friday 25 July through to 7am on Wednesday 30 July.

Industrial action by resident doctors is set to significantly impact NHS services across the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (BOB) area this week, as negotiations with the government over pay and conditions reach a stalemate.

The walkout will affect five major NHS trusts in the region:

• Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust

• Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

• Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust

• Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust

• Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Despite the strike, consultants and other specialist doctors will continue to provide care, with NHS teams focused on maintaining safe emergency and essential services.

Dr Ben Riley, Chief Medical Officer at NHS BOB Integrated Care Board, urged the public to act responsibly during the period of disruption:

“We are asking patients to choose services appropriately during industrial action and take simple steps to help ensure care is available for people who need it most. This includes using NHS 111 online as the first port of call for health needs, and only using 999 in a serious or life-threatening emergency.”

Patients with scheduled appointments will be contacted directly if their care is affected. Otherwise, they are advised to attend as normal. However, NHS officials have warned of widespread disruption to routine services, with delays and cancellations likely.

The latest strike follows more than two years of industrial action over pay erosion and working conditions. Since strikes began in late 2022, nearly 1.5 million hospital appointments have been rescheduled across the NHS – 1,486,258 in total. The last strike in June 2024 alone led to 61,989 rescheduled appointments and 23,001 staff absences at its peak.

Resident doctors – who make up around half of all NHS doctors – have between three and eight years of medical experience, yet they continue to express frustration over pay falling more than 20% in real terms since 2008.

Talks between the British Medical Association’s Resident Doctors Committee (RDC) and Health Secretary Wes Streeting have broken down, with the RDC confirming the walkout will proceed.

In a joint statement, RDC co-chairs Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt said:

“We came to talks in good faith, keen to explore real solutions... Unfortunately, we did not receive an offer that would meet the scale of those challenges. This is at its core a pay dispute. We have seen a series of ‘no’s’ – no to movement on pay, no to student loan forgiveness, no credible move forwards.”

The committee emphasised its openness to further negotiations but criticised the lack of a meaningful proposal from the government.

As the BOB region braces for disruption, NHS leaders are encouraging residents to:

• Visit local NHS Trust websites for service updates

• Use NHS 111 online for non-emergency care

• Treat NHS staff with respect and patience during this period of pressure