Junior doctor strikes in Portsmouth: Thousands of cancelled NHS appointments at Queen Alexandra Hospital

Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust (PHU), whose main site is Queen Alexandra Hospital, had to cancel 1,508 appointments due to the junior doctors strike which ran from January 3 until January 9. The cancellations included 220 elective (non-urgent) and 1,288 outpatient appointments. On the first day of the strikes, QA announced a critical incident and despite the industrial action coming to a close, the hospital’s emergency department remains under pressure.

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A PHU spokesperson said: "Our hospital remains in critical incident due to a continued increase in the number of people needing our urgent and emergency services and caring for high numbers of people with complex care needs, which require a longer stay in hospital. Our teams have worked incredibly hard to continue with as many as appointments and procedures and we are sorry some patients and families have been affected by cancellations. We are working to reschedule these as soon as possible.”

The spokesperson added: "We are working very closely with our health and care partners to enable discharge for those patients with ongoing support needs. Our local community can support us by helping to get their loved ones home as quickly as possible so we can prepare the bed space for the next person in Portsmouth who needs our care. We ask that people only attend the Emergency Department if it is vital, this means a life-threatening illness or injury that cannot be treated else. Alternative support and care is available through Urgent Treatment Centres (UTCs), Pharmacies and primary care. You can also contact NHS 111 online or by calling 111 for advise on where to access help if you are unsure."

January’s junior doctors strike was the longest in the history of the NHS and the potential of future strikes has not yet been ruled out. A new pay offer from the government has been made to the British Medical Association and its members are currently holding a referendum on whether to to accept the deal or not. The vote is set to close on Tuesday, January 23.