English hospitals brace for ‘alarming’ disruption as GPs go on strike

The NHS faces “alarming” and “dangerous” disruption until Christmas and potentially into 2025, health chiefs have said, after GPs began their first industrial action in 60 years amid a major row over funding.

Hospitals, A&E units and mental health services are already under huge pressure. They are now braced for a surge in demand from thousands of patients turning to them for help after family doctors in England launched work-to-rule action on Thursday.

A letter seen by the Guardian that was sent to senior NHS managers from the national primary care director, Dr Amanda Doyle, said the NHS was preparing for a “worst-case scenario” and that 999 services could be affected.

Speaking to the Guardian, Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of NHS Confederation, said the industrial action would probably have an immediate significant effect. “In some areas, it may take longer for patients to get an appointment with their GP, or they may have to go somewhere else for something that was previously provided in general practice.

“This will pile more pressure onto A&E, mental health and other frontline services where waiting times could grow considerably. This is an alarming situation to be in, particularly after everything the NHS has been through over the last few years, and one that health leaders understand GPs will not have entered lightly.”

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Source: The Guardian, 2 August 2024