Patients warned to expect disruption to NHS across Nottinghamshire during strike action

The plea is being made as NHS services finalise their plans ahead of industrial action by junior doctors. The action, being led by the British Medical Association, the trade union and professional body for doctors and medical students in the UK, is due to take place from 7am on March 13 to 7am on March 16.

Dr Dave Briggs, NHS Nottinghamshire medical director, said: “We are asking patients to use all our services wisely during industrial action and take simple steps to 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 continuing to only use 999 if it is a life-threatening emergency.

“Services are expected to be impacted across the whole healthcare system including hospitals, mental health services and primary care, as GP trainees are junior doctors. This may affect some appointments and clinics, but our message to the public is to please continue to attend your appointments unless you are contacted and told otherwise. The NHS will contact you if your appointment needs to be rescheduled due to strike action.”

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust is warning patients to brace themselves for significant disruption to some non-urgent services, as the trust, which runs Mansfield Community and Sutton’s King’s Mill hospitals, prepares to redeploy senior doctors and consultants to prioritise safe urgent and emergency patient care, including King’s Mills’ emergency department.

Dr David Selwyn, SFH medical director, said: “We are doing everything we can to keep essential urgent and emergency care services running to guarantee that patients can continue to access vital medical attention when they need it most.

“We are incredibly grateful to all our staff who will be going above-and-beyond to continue to deliver those services during this period of action that we know will have a significant impact.

“Our message to our patients throughout this time is clear: ‘Please choose the right service for your needs and continue to attend your appointments as planned, unless we contact you to rearrange.

“By choosing NHS services wisely and making every appointment count, you will be helping to ensure our hard-working staff can be there for the patients who need us most over the weeks ahead.”

Ifti Majid, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust chief executive, said: “We value the vital contribution our junior doctors make and respect their right to take industrial action. I hope a resolution will be found very soon. Our priorities are patient safety and staff welfare. We are currently working with colleagues across the trust and wider healthcare system to assess the possible impact of industrial action on our services. If we need to cancel any non-urgent appointments or reduce any services, we will inform our patients as soon as possible.”

How to help the NHS during planned industrial action:

• Continue to come forward if you need urgent medical care, especially in emergency and life-threatening cases;
• Only call 999 or attend A&E departments for serious accidents and genuine emergencies;
• If your relative is due to be discharged from hospital and needs to be collected, do whatever you can to help bring them home as early as possible;
• Consider the full range of NHS services available to you. When you need urgent medical attention but it’s not an emergency, alternative support is available by visiting NHS111 online or by calling 111;
• Pharmacies can also offer over-the-counter advice and treat common illnesses such as colds, sore throats, stings and allergies.