The Royal United Hospital Trust is advising people not to attend the Emergency Department on Thursday June 21st, unless really necessary.
GPs and hospital doctors, who are members of the British Medical Association, have voted to take industrial action on Thursday, meaning they are expecting to treat only those patients who need urgent or emergency care. It’s understood that a significant number of GP surgeries will be open for patients requiring an urgent appointment on the day and this should be a patient’s first point of contact, not the hospital’s Emergency Department.
The Trust has been working closely with staff to ensure that any disruption is kept to a minimum and that they continue to receive good quality, safe care and treatment. All patients who need urgent or emergency treatment will receive this on the day. This will include all inpatient and outpatient cancer treatment. Inpatients will receive their normal level of care but it is possible that some routine hospital appointments and procedures, booked for the 21st June, may be postponed due to the industrial action
A comprehensive picture of which services may be affected is currently being drawn and the Trust anticipates that very few procedures and outpatient appointments need to be postponed. At this stage, that figure is less than 40 and affected patients are being contacted individually. Information about postponed services will also be put on the Trust’s website (www.ruh.nhs.uk) and updated as required.
