Explainer: what would a doctors’ strike look like?

Junior doctors attend a rally in 2016. iStock.com/janecampbell21

By Beth Roberts

Unions are gearing up for the largest dispute with the government since the junior doctors’ strikes in 2016, as the British Medical Association describes industrial action as “inevitable”. We look at what a strike would mean for you.

This winter, the UK faces the prospect of the largest industrial action by doctors in history. Union representatives for trainees, hospital consultants and GPs in all four nations are discussing balloting members for strike action, which would likely to take place in early 2023.1