NHS hospital services will be significantly affected by upcoming industrial action by junior doctors. People with urgent or life-threatening issues will always be prioritised and those with non-urgent needs should expect long waits.
Junior doctors will exercise their right to strike over five days from 7am on Friday 11th August until 7am on Tuesday 15th August. This is the fifth strike in this pay dispute however the impact on services is expected to be greater as many staff take their annual leave in August in line with school holidays.
Some appointments and treatments are being rescheduled and the Trust will contact anyone whose appointment is affected by the strike action. If you are not contacted then it is very important that you attend your appointment as normal.
Dr Adrian Clements, medical director at North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (NCIC) said:
“During the strike action the Cumbrian public are urged to help where they can. Families and friends are asked to help support patients to be discharged home by considering the support they can offer to meet care needs. I also remind the public to keep their appointments unless they hear otherwise. Anyone needing urgent mental health support should continue to seek it via their local Crisis Team.
"We are prioritising emergency and urgent care services, and we really need the public's help to only call 999 and attend emergency departments if it is a genuine life-threatening injury or illness.”
Everyone is urged to continue to use 111 online, GPs and pharmacies as the first port of call for advice as these services are not affected by the strikes. The walk in Urgent Treatment Centres in Penrith and Keswick can also help with urgent but non-life-threatening conditions such as cuts and grazes, ear and throat infections, emergency contraception, minor head injuries and minor scalds and burns. Penrith Urgent Treatment Centre is open between 8am and 10pm and Keswick Urgent Treatment Centre is open from 8.30am until 6pm.
Parents, carers and young people can also use the Healthier Together app or website which provides NHS healthcare advice and top tips on a range of child-related illnesses along with information on local services.
Dr Clements added:
“During the strike period the availability of our senior medical staff will be stretched and the availability of staff that can see you will be dramatically reduced. For this particular round of strike action we expect the impact to be greater because staff have already booked annual leave in line with the school holidays. There will be an impact on waiting times and discharges, however the team will maintain patient safety and make sure unwell patients are seen in a timely manner. There may be delays to be seen if you do not have a serious problem.
“If families can work with us to support patients to get home, we can then release beds for others who need to be in hospital. The strikes don’t affect the whole of the NHS so GPs, pharmacies and the 111 service should always be used as the first port of call for advice unless your needs are urgent or life threatening and then of course we will be there for you.
“While we know the impact will be greater, we have worked very hard over the last two weeks to look at how we can maintain as many services as possible. Patient safety is our main priority and while some outpatient clinics and planned surgery has had to be postponed, emergency care will be maintained. If you do access our services, please be kind to our staff.
“We are extremely grateful to everyone for their support and help; this period will be extremely difficult however we have plans in place to keep patients safe and staff supported.”