NHS Industrial Action update

NHS Industrial Action update

12 June 2026

What’s happening when?

Resident doctors (formerly known as junior doctors) are scheduled to strike for four days from 7am on Monday, 15 June to 6:59am on Friday, 19 June 2026.

The industrial action will cause significant disruption, with NHS Trusts across Cheshire and Merseyside set to be severely impacted.

Almost half of all hospital doctors are resident doctors. You will see resident doctors working in almost every part of a busy hospital, including A&E where they might diagnose you or put you under anaesthetic, write prescriptions, support the process of admission and discharge, maintain the flow of patients through the hospital and ensure beds are available for those who need them the most.

The NHS will continue to deliver planned care where possible, especially for patients in greatest clinical need. Patients are being advised to attend any planned appointments unless contacted directly by the NHS to reschedule.

Local NHS services will be using their websites and social media channels to provide up-to-date information to the public about local service disruption – so members of the public are being advised to check before they travel.

Warning and informing about likely service disruption

On behalf of the system, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside has issued this media release to help warn and inform members of the public of likely service disruption:
View media release

Separately, bespoke letters have been issued to Primary Care colleagues across Cheshire and Merseyside to support them to make decisions as appropriate to help safeguard patient care.

NHS Trusts with participating union members are communicating directly in advance with patients whose care will be affected and will ensure that public-facing channels (websites / social media etc) are kept up-to-date with details of local service impact.

Where necessary, NHS Trusts will also provide specific updates to local stakeholders and health and care partners as required.

NHS 111

A clear call to action is for members of the public to use NHS 111 for all non-emergency healthcare needs:
Use NHS 111

The NHS 111 service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can call, go online or use the NHS App to find out:

  • Where to get help for your symptoms
  • How to find general health information and advice
  • Where to get an emergency supply of your prescribed medicine
  • How to get a repeat prescription
  • How to get an emergency dental appointment

If needed, NHS 111 can also arrange a call back from a nurse, doctor or paramedic or an appointment at the most appropriate local service including local pharmacies, urgent treatment centres, GP practices or A&E.

More information about when to call 999 and when to go to A&E is available via the national NHS website:
When to call 999
When to go to A&E

Reminder – Incident management

In response to planned NHS industrial action across Cheshire and Merseyside, an incident management team has been established to manage the system-wide response. Key members include:

  • Incident Commander – Jude Adams, Interim Executive Director of Strategy and Transformation (NHS Cheshire and Merseyside)
  • Deputy Head of Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response – Nicola Barnes (NHS Cheshire and Merseyside)
  • Executive Clinical Director – Dr Fiona Lemmens (NHS Cheshire and Merseyside)
  • Associate Clinical Director (Primary Care and Neighbourhoods) – Dr Jonathan Griffiths (NHS Cheshire and Merseyside)
  • Chief People Officer – Mike Gibney (NHS Cheshire and Merseyside)

Senior system spokespeople:

  • Dr Fiona Lemmens
  • Dr Jonathan Griffiths
  • Dr Sinead Clarke

An Incident Control Centre is operational on strike days – involving key colleagues across multiple disciplines.

Service disruption to date

NHS Cheshire and Merseyside continue to work with partners to ensure appropriate plans are enacted to maintain the safety and welfare of patients before, during and after periods of industrial action and to ensure any impact on local services is minimised.

Provisional data detailing the impact of previous rounds of NHS industrial action is published nationally here:
View national data

Where can I find out more?