Resident doctors started the six-day walkout on Tuesday (Image: Getty )
The NHS has issued a ‘Monday, April 13, at 7am’ alert for people living in England in a new update this morning (April 11). It comes as the public is being reminded to access care as normal during the final days of the latest resident doctors’ strike, which is due to conclude at the start of next week.
Taking to X, the NHS updated followers by sharing a new post, which reads: « Some NHS services will continue to be affected due to strike action until 7am Monday 13 April. Please continue to attend your GP and dental appointments, unless you are contacted and told otherwise. » It adds: « GP practices and dental surgeries remain open. Please continue to attend your GP and dental appointments, unless told otherwise ».
Members of the public are being urged to seek care as normal over the weekend as resident doctors in England continue their six-day strike, reports the Mirror. Officials have stated that workers across the NHS « have responded heroically » to the disruption, despite the considerable challenge of arranging cover for staff following the long Easter weekend.
Resident doctors began the six-day walkout at 7am on Tuesday, April 7, and are set to return to work at 6.59am on Monday, April 13. Patients should attend all scheduled appointments over the weekend unless contacted to rearrange, NHS England confirmed. GP practices, pharmacies, NHS 111 and emergency care services will likewise remain available throughout the final days of industrial action.
Professor Ramani Moonesinghe, national clinical director for critical and perioperative care at NHS England, said: « Yet again staff across the NHS have responded heroically to keeping patients safe and ensuring that people can continue to get the care they need since the strikes began on Tuesday.
Read more: Cholesterol superfood that unclogs arteries is ‘better than aspirin’ doctor says
Read more: Tense Wes Streeting clash with GMB hosts leaves furious fans with one complaint
« It has been particularly challenging to fill rotas off the back of the Easter bank holiday weekend, and we are immensely grateful to the staff who have gone above and beyond to provide cover so that hospitals can weather the storm and limit disruption for patients. »
« The NHS remains open for you over the weekend, and patients should continue to attend appointments unless they have been asked to reschedule. As ever, please call 999 or come to AandE in an emergency, and use 111 online first if you need urgent but not life-threatening help. »
The Health Secretary has stated he has « not given up hope » of reaching an agreement with resident doctors, while reiterating that the Government has stretched its offer as far as possible. Wes Streeting claimed medics have been the « standout winners » of the Labour Government, but cautioned that they would need to « compromise » in order to steer the NHS through its current difficulties.
Prior to the walkout, the British Medical Association (BMA) turned down a Government proposal which included a 4.9% rise in average basic pay. Mr Streeting told the Press Association that the union « walked away » from a favourable deal.
Some NHS services will continue to be affected due to strike action until 7am Monday 13 April.
Please continue to attend your GP and dental appointments, unless you are contacted and told otherwise. pic.twitter.com/lVaR60NZAn
— NHS (@NHSuk) April 11, 2026
He said: « They have got to recognise that given the challenges we face in the NHS, the challenges we face right across our public services, how hard-pressed taxpayers are in their pockets at the moment, and how uncertain the world is with all of the instability and uncertainty that we see, they have got to accept there is only so much this Government can do in such a short space of time.
« They have been the standout winners in less than two years of a Labour Government. There’s got to be a bit of give and take here. Resident doctors have had a good deal, but they’re not the only NHS staff. The NHS is the most important public service for this Labour Government, but it’s not the only public service.
« So, in order to get the country through these challenges, we are going to have to compromise. The Government has shown compromise, that offer, that deal’s on the table. I need resident doctors, the BMA, to come back next week and accept that compromise. »
NHS resident doctors protesting outside Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle (Image: Getty)
The industrial action marks the 15th round of strikes by resident doctors in England since 2023 and is projected to cost the NHS £300 million. In total, the financial impact of strikes is estimated to have exceeded £3 billion.
Mr Streeting told the PA the NHS is « coping » with the disruption. « We’re doing everything we can to maintain planned care, we’re keeping urgent and emergency services there for people, and people are coming forward in the way that we want them to, so that’s all encouraging, » he said.
« But I’m not going to pretend that this hasn’t come with significant disruption and enormous costs. This is going to end up being £300 million that could have been put in doctors’ pockets, and in other areas of patient care, and support other staff in the NHS. I have not given up hope that we will be able to get a deal with resident doctors. We have gone, as a government, as far as we can. »
