Industrial Action

The British Medical Association (BMA) has announced a Resident Doctors strike from 7am on Friday 25 July to 7am on Wednesday 30 July.  

This period of industrial action will cause disruption to some services, and some appointments will unfortunately have to be rearranged. We will contact patients directly if their appointment is affected by this next round of strike action.  If you have not been contacted then please attend your appointment as planned.

Our priorities remain to provide safe care for patients who are receiving inpatient care in our hospitals and those who need urgent and emergency medical care and treatment. We are working hard to prioritise resources to protect emergency treatment, critical care, neonatal care, maternity and trauma, and ensure we prioritise patients who have waited the longest for elective care and cancer surgery. We will only reschedule appointments and procedures where necessary and will rebook immediately, where possible. 

Our emergency department will remain open, for medical emergencies or anyone requiring urgent medical attention. If you need urgent medical help for something that isn’t life threatening or a serious injury please contact NHS 111 or NHS 111 Online. You will be directed to the most appropriate place for your care or treatment. GP practices will continue to be open during the junior doctors and consultants strikes. Please continue to attend your GP and dental appointments, unless you are contacted and told otherwise.

When to contact NHS 111:

1. You need medical help fast, but it's not a 999 emergency
2. You don't know who to call for medical help or you don't have a GP to call
3. You think you need to go to A&E or another NHS urgent care service; or
4. You require health information or reassurance about what to do next

Thank you for your patience and understanding during these times.  We apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused.

During this period of action we will need to rearrange some appointments to ensure we have safe levels of staffing on our wards, in our emergency departments and other critical care areas. Patients with an appointment planned during the period of action will be contacted directly if their appointment needs to be rescheduled. We appreciate how disappointing this will be for anyone waiting for treatment or investigations and we are sorry to postpone arrangements. However, we will rearrange any cancelled appointments as soon as possible. Patients who are not contacted in advance should attend their appointment as planned.