SERVICES at Knutsford and District Community Hospital are set to be 'significantly' disrupted next week as junior doctors go on strike.

Last month, the British Medical Association announced its junior doctor members had voted to take industrial action over pay and conditions.

The three-day strikes will begin at 6.59am on Monday, March 13, and finish at the same on Thursday, March 16.

NHS sites across the country, including sites in East Cheshire such as Knutsford, Macclesfield and Congleton hospitals, will be affected.

This means, for striking staff, that all work including nights, on-call shifts, and non-resident work will stop during these three days.

The co-chairs of the BMA junior doctors’ committee, Dr Rob Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi, said there was 'no option' but to strike'.

In a statement, they said: "Make no mistake, this strike was absolutely in the Government’s gift to avert; they know it, we know it and our patients also need to know it.

"We have tried, since last summer, to get each Health Secretary we have had, round the negotiating table.

"We have not been told why we have not been offered intensive negotiations nor what we need to do for the government to begin negotiations with us. We are left with no option but to proceed with this action.

"We are demoralised, angry and no longer willing to work for wages that have seen a real terms decline of more than 26 percent in the past 15 years.

"This, together with the stress and exhaustion of working in an NHS in crisis, has brought us to this moment, brought us to a 72-hour walkout."

Ahead of the walkout, hospital bosses at the East Cheshire NHS Trust are urging members of the public to only visit A&E for life-threatening emergencies during the strikes.

A trust spokesperson said: "Withdrawal of this care for 72 hours is likely to cause significant disruption to service delivery and elective recovery.

"We are working closely with partners to ensure appropriate plans are enacted to deal with this disruption.

"We are also working closely with union representatives to maintain the safety and welfare of our patients during planned staff walkouts, and to ensure any impact on our services are minimised.

"During the upcoming industrial action, we would like to urge local residents to only call 999 or attend our emergency department in a life-threatening emergency.

"Typical emergencies include cardiac arrest, loss of consciousness, fits that are not stopping, breathing difficulties, severe bleeding, allergic reactions and serious head injuries.

"For non-urgent concerns, please seek help from NHS 111 online, or contact your GP and pharmacist.

"The NHS will do everything it can to go ahead with planned procedures during industrial action - especially for patients in greatest clinical need.

"The NHS will contact you if your appointment needs to be rescheduled. If you have not been contacted, please attend your appointment as planned."