To our local communities, our patients, and their families.
At 7am on Monday (2 October) our consultants and junior doctors will take part in a three-day period of industrial action which will end at 7am on Thursday 5 October.
These periods of industrial action refer to a national dispute between the Government and Trades Unions about pay and terms and conditions.
The safety of our patients and staff remains our top priority. We are committed to keeping disruption to a minimum on these dates and we have measures in place to ensure the safety and welfare of our patients and our staff.
We are asking everyone in our local communities to help us help you and ensure you are prepared when it comes to your medical needs.
As ever, we are here for you if you are feeling unwell, you should continue to come to hospital if you need us. However, to support us, and ensure that everyone who needs our help can receive it as quickly as possible, we are asking you to make sure you pick the right service for you.
Think NHS 111 first. For anything which feels urgent, or if you don’t know what to do, visit https://111.nhs.uk/ or call 111 and you will be directed to the most appropriate service. Trained NHS advisors can provide health advice, connect you to a healthcare professional, arrange a face-to-face appointment including home visits and out of hours appointments, or give you an arrival time if you need to go to your local emergency department.
If you need urgent mental health help, call 111 and choose the mental health option.
Visit your local pharmacy. Many pharmacies are open over bank holidays and can offer expert advice on common conditions such as colds, sore throats and rashes. Check pharmacy bank holiday opening hours in advance online.
Remember self-care. Many common ailments can be treated at home. Self-care is recommended when you have a minor condition which doesn’t normally need medical care (from a doctor or nurse) or any treatment in order to get better.
In case of emergency. Only call 999 or attend emergency departments for serious accidents and for genuine emergencies, like chest pain, breathing difficulties, signs of a stroke or bleeding that won’t stop. Please do not delay in calling if you need this type of help.
In line with other hospitals in the region, there will be a reduction in the number of routine operations, planned procedures and outpatient appointments during this time. This will allow remaining clinicians to focus on providing emergency and inpatient care.
We understand how frustrating and distressing this will be for patients, and we are sorry that people will have appointments rearranged. Please do attend appointments unless you are informed otherwise.
If you have a medical appointment and have not been contacted by a staff member, please continue to attend your appointment as usual.
If you are unable to make your NHS appointment, please remember to contact the number on your appointment letter so that it can be reallocated to another patient.
If you are contacted by a member of our team to cancel your appointment, we urge people to be kind and respectful towards our staff making these calls, and please know that they are working hard to reschedule these as quickly as possible.
Thank you for continuing to support our hard-working staff and volunteers as they work to keep our patients safe over the coming days.
Best wishes,
Alice Webster, Chief Executive
Ends.
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