NHS England has delivered an essential message to anyone experiencing a medical emergency during the next few days. This advisory comes as thousands of junior doctors commenced a five-day strike on Friday, following a breakdown in talks between the Government and the British Medical Association (BMA) over a pay dispute.

Taking to X, previously known as Twitter, NHS England stated last week: “Continuing this weekend until Wednesday morning, some services will be affected due to strike action. Please continue to come forward for NHS care. If you need urgent medical help, use 111, and if it is a serious or life-threatening emergency, please call 999.”

For those not in the know, 111 is an NHS help service designed to assist in urgent but non-life-threatening situations. This can be accessed by calling the number, using online services, or through the NHS app.

The service is intended for people aged five and above and is particularly useful when GP practices are closed (out-of-hours). Depending on the situation, a 111 advisor may suggest various courses of action.

• Go to an urgent treatment centre
• Call 999 or go to A&E in an emergency
• See a pharmacist for help with a minor illness
• Look after yourself safely at home
• Book a callback from a nurse
• Get urgent specialist support for dental or mental health problems
• Contact your own GP surgery
• See an evening and weekend GP (out-of-hours GP)

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Guidance on the NHS website adds: “You can answer the questions yourself or on behalf of someone else. You do not need to tell us who you are, but if we refer you to another service we will need some personal details. We ask for your location so we can find local services to help you.”

Patients are encouraged to keep their appointments during the strike unless instructed otherwise. Hospitals will endeavor to reschedule any cancellations within two weeks.

NHS England is also focusing on life-saving care amidst the strikes, but will attempt to minimise appointment cancellations. Amidst the industrial action, Dr Michael Gregory, Regional Medical Director for NHS England in the North West commented last week to say: “This period of industrial action will create significant challenges for the NHS and it is vital the public know how they can access the care they need during that time.

“It’s important that people use NHS 111 online (111.nhs.uk) as their first port of call for all non-urgent health needs, as well as use their local GP practice and community pharmacies as usual.

“Urgent and emergency care services remain open during the industrial action period and people should call 999 or attend the accident and emergency department in the event of a life or limb threatening emergency.”

He also added: “I would urge people to please attend your appointment as planned. The NHS will contact you if your appointment needs to be rescheduled due to strike action.

“I’d like to thank the public for their continued support and our NHS staff who are going above and beyond to maintain safe patient services during this challenging period.”