Resident doctors due to strike from 7am on 17 December until 7am on 22 December

16 December 2025

Key messages:

Local people are being asked to support by:

Attending hospital and GP appointments unless they are told otherwise by your general practice or hospital.

Helping friends and family be discharged from hospital by giving them a lift home, making sure they have essential shopping and important items like clothing and a key.

Treating themselves at home for less serious conditions. You can find information about self-care on the NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/symptoms/

Choosing the right NHS service for their needs, such as their local pharmacy, GP or urgent treatment centre.

Visiting 111 online or phoning 111 if they need medical help now but are not sure what to do.

Only attending A&E if it is a life-threatening emergency.

Being kind to staff.

Find out about NHS services:

Visit https://111.nhs.uk/ or phone 111 to be directed to the right service:

Pharmacy – your local pharmacy can help with a range of common conditions:

Urgent treatment centres – can help with sprains, fractures, minor burns and skin infections

General practice – contact your practice for symptoms that aren’t going away. If you need help out of hours, visit https://111.nhs.uk/ or phone 111.

Self-care – find out more about how to treat yourself for some common conditions. The NHS App also has helpful information about different health conditions.

Children’s health and wellbeing – Find out more about common childhood illnesses, including advice on what ‘red-flag’ signs to look out for, where to seek help if required and how long your child’s symptoms are likely to last:

Mental health support – visit or phone 111 (option 2)

Mental health crisis sanctuaries – can help you with support, information and guidance if you are over 18 years old and experiencing mental health issues or in a mental health crisis:

Urgent dental care – contact your dentist or visit / phone NHS111 to arrange an urgent appointment. You don’t need to be registered with an NHS dentist for this. Find out more

Find out more about NHS services