Industrial action update: Thursday 27 June to Tuesday 2 July

Emergency care services will be centralised at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital 24/7 during this period. The public are advised to only attend A&E or call 999 if their condition is life-threatening or serious.

Other Community Minor Injury and Illness Units and GP practices across the county will continue to provide services. The public can get advice on their healthcare options at 111.nhs.uk or by calling 111.

Ahead of next week’s industrial action by Junior Doctors, the NHS in Gloucestershire is setting out the pre-planned temporary service changes that will be put in place.

The changes announced today will again help NHS services to prepare for industrial action and enable available emergency care staff to come together at Gloucester to keep services safe.

Whilst the NHS locally is making plans to keep essential services available, the strike will cause disruption and pose substantial challenges. The highest priority will be to care for those in most immediate and urgent need and safeguard patient care.

Patients who have a planned hospital operation, outpatient clinic or procedure

Patients who have a planned hospital operation, outpatient clinic or procedure between Thursday 27 June and Tuesday 2 July should attend as usual unless they hear from their NHS Trust to advise otherwise. However, given the need to ensure safe staffing arrangements in emergency care and other critical services many appointments will need to be rearranged.

There will be no disruption to patient visiting arrangements on these days. However, the local NHS Trusts are asking relatives and carers to do everything they can to work with their staff to get their loved ones home from hospital as quickly and as safely as possible, with additional support, if necessary, from local NHS community services or adult social care teams.

Chief Medical Officer at NHS Gloucestershire, Dr Ananthakrishnan Raghuram (Raghu) said:

“The five-day strike will pose significant challenges to the local NHS, particularly hospital services, and we are sorry that patients might experience disruption to services.

One Gloucestershire health and care partners are working closely together to ensure those in greatest need continue to have access to high quality care and support.

However, it’s vital that we all work together to keep A&E in Gloucester clear for life threatening conditions and serious injuries.

The public can help by thinking carefully about their healthcare options and getting advice when needed from NHS 111. Advice will also be available through local NHS social media channels.”