29 March 2023


The British Medical Association (BMA) and Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) have announced strike action for junior doctors.

This will be a full 96-hour walk-out from 06:59 on Tuesday 11 April until 06:59 on Saturday 15 April. This is four days of strikes coming immediately after a four-day bank holiday weekend. 

Junior doctors comprise roughly half of all doctors in the NHS. 

Industrial action will take place at Royal Papworth Hospital, and to ensure patient safety we will be reducing our activity on these days. 

We will prioritise resources to protect as best as possible emergency and urgent treatment, critical care, and ensure we prioritise patients who have waited the longest for cancer surgery.

If you were booked for an appointment, procedure or operation in our hospital on these days and it needs to be postponed, our team will contact you to confirm this. We are working hard to re-arrange a new date for you as soon as possible and you will receive a new appointment letter when this is confirmed.

If we have not contacted you, please attend your appointment as planned. 

The NHS is asking patients to choose services wisely during industrial action and take simple steps to help ensure care is available to patients who need it most. This includes using NHS 111 online as the first port of call for health needs and continuing to only use 999 if it is a life-threatening emergency.

Please continue to attend your GP and dental appointments, unless you are contacted and told otherwise.