Hampshire Hospitals urging patients to use services wisely as resident doctors strike
Resident doctors will start their five-day strike today for better pay and more jobs
The Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is urging patients to use services wisely as resident doctors go on strike.
The British Medical Association has announced that resident doctors will start their five-day strike today for better pay and more jobs.
Patients are being urged to attend their appointments unless told otherwise.
Nick Ward, Deputy Chief Medical Officer at Hampshire Hospitals, said: "The teams across the hospitals have been working really hard to try and prepare for the upcoming resident doctors strike.
"There's a lot of work being put in to mitigate the impact of losing a very large number of really valuable doctors to our service.
"Whilst we are confident that we're going to be able to continue providing safe care for those who need it, we are aware that we will have less doctors around than we normally do.
"This will impact in those cases, particularly in the emergency department, that perhaps aren't so urgent.
"Whilst we're always here for those who have significant emergencies or life-threatening issues, those who have not so urgent cases will probably end up waiting longer than normal, unfortunately, whilst our team manage those more pressing needs."
The advice is as follows:
- Please choose services appropriately during industrial action and take simple steps to help ensure care is available to patients who need it most. This includes using 111 online as the first port of call for health needs, and only using 999 if it is a serious or life-threatening emergency. For more information on when to call 999 and when to go to the Emergency Department, you can visit our Use the Right Service pages.
- If you have a loved one who is in hospital, please help them to return home as soon as they are ready to be discharged.
- Please help by looking after yourself, loved ones and by checking in on vulnerable family members and neighbours.
Mr Ward added: "During the strike, we will be continuing to run outpatient services, elective services, and operations and diagnostics like scanning as much as we possibly can.
"Our request to the public is please, if you haven't heard from us, then do expect that your appointment is going to go ahead and turn up.
"There is a small chance that you might hear from us if there are appointments cancelled because we have sadly had to cancel a few appointments.
"But please do come unless you hear from us."