Junior NHS doctors at Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) are set to start a four day walk out from tomorrow.
Junior doctor members of The British Medical Association (BMA) and Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association have decided to take industrial action at NHS trusts across England.
READ MORE: Oxford junior doctors warn they are tempted to move abroad
The strike will last from 7am on April 11 and finish at 7am on April 15.
Industrial action is taking place on our hospital sites from 7am on Tuesday 11 April to 7am on Saturday 15 April.
— OUH (@OUHospitals) April 5, 2023
We will contact you directly if your appointment is impacted.
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The four day walk out is set to be the biggest and most disruptive strike by any health union so far.
The four Oxford University Hospitals affected include John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital, Horton General Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre.
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Junior doctors previously walked out for three consecutive days from March 13.
Sara Randall, Chief Operating Officer at Oxford University Hospitals, said: "We recognise and respect the right of our staff to take part in lawful industrial action, and have been working with our staff and union partners to ensure the safety of our patients, and the wellbeing of our staff.
"We have plans in place to deal with changes to our services in the event of industrial action, including learning points from similar action earlier this year.
“As always, our priority is to continue to provide safe care for our patients, and anyone with a rescheduled appointment will be rebooked in for the soonest time possible.”
Hospitals will continue to provide urgent and emergency care but some appointments and elective inpatient and day case procedures have been re-scheduled to ensure patient safety.
The chief executive of the NHS Confederation Matthew Taylor has said up to 350,000 appointments and operations are likely to be cancelled.
Ms Randall said all patients who will be affected have been contacted directly.
Ms Randall thanked patients for their "understanding" and said they would prioritise "patients with the highest clinical needs".
Writing in The Telegraph, the health secretary Steve Barclay said the pay demands by the BMA were “unrealistic” and he also said the timing of the strike after the bank holiday had deliberately been chosen to “cause maximum disruption”.
He also suggested the pay demands by junior doctors were “out of step with pay settlements in other parts of the public sector”.
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