Impact of Doctors' Strike on Hospital Services in England

The NHS doctors' strike in June 2012 significantly affected levels of health care provided by hospitals with noticeable regional difference as well.

Nearly 40 years ago doctors went on a national strike. With the anniversary of this event, the Dr Foster Unit decided to examine the effects of the 24hr doctors’ strike, which took place on 21 June 2012 to see how hospital activity in English NHS hospitals was affected.The study looked at patients admitted to hospitals –inpatients, and those with outpatient appointments, over a 3-week period (from 11th to 29th June, 2012), excluding weekends and spanning the strike day.In looking at the data, a number of clear results were observed:

Substantial increase of 46% in the number of appointments cancelled by the hospital on the strike day.
Although emergency admissions dropped slightly by 2%, we believe it did not affect the provision of emergency care. Similarly, elective admissions dropped by 13%.
The number of outpatients seen by medical staff dropped by 8%
In-hospital deaths on the day of the strike did not differ from the national average on any other day.

Additionally, the research discovered the impact of the strike across regional Health Authorities in England was varied. The North West Health Authority was affected the most with a 100% increase in the number of cancelled appointments, 10% drop in the number of outpatients seen on the day and a 16% drop in elective admissions. The least affected Health Authorities were the South West, East of England and South Central. Discussing the results of the study, the lead author, Dr Milagros Ruiz, noted ‘Doctors taking industrial action is a rare event worth studying. Although this was a very short 24hr strike action by medical practitioners, the effects were felt across the country with some areas affected more than others. The reality of doctors’ suspending their services goes beyond the statistics however; thousands of patients were let down by their doctors and left with an interrupted medical care with consequences we are unable to quantify.’