Hospitals warn of ‘notably reduced’ staffing levels as junior doctors stage fresh strike
‘DIFFICULT WEEK AHEAD’: The Emergency Department at Hull Royal Infirmary
By Simon Bristow, Co-Editor
Junior doctors across the Humber region will begin a further round of industrial action this week as part of their long-running pay dispute with the Government.
Members of the BMA will take industrial action in the form of a full walkout from 7am on Wednesday, January 3 through to 7am on Tuesday, January 9. This will be mirrored by junior doctor members of the HCSA union.
The industrial action, the first of the new year, comes less than two weeks after another 72-hour strike by junior doctors concluded on December 23.
Dr Kate Wood, group chief medical officer for Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust and Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Early January is always one of the busiest times for local hospitals.
“It’s winter, so as you’d expect, we have lots of sick and vulnerable patients in our care, but we are also seeing the effects of viruses such as Covid-19, flu and Norovirus in circulation too, which are also common at this time of year.
“With the festive period now over, we also find that some people who have previously put off seeking help for medical problems over Christmas and new year come forward for treatment, and our Emergency Departments often bear the brunt of this as people want immediate help or are unable to see their GP.
“With a significantly reduced number of medical staff on duty across all of our hospitals, including Scunthorpe General, Hull Royal Infirmary, Diana Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby, Goole & District, and Castle Hill Hospital, we are expecting the forthcoming strike dates to be incredibly busy.
“We’ve had to make some difficult decisions to cancel and reschedule people’s appointments so that staff who are not involved in the action can support colleagues in areas that are affected by the strike.
“We know how frustrating this can be, especially for those who have been waiting a long time to be seen or for their surgery, and we would like to apologise for that.
“As the strike is due to last for almost a week, one of our main areas of concern is emergency care, ensuring we maintain flow through the departments and that we’re able to continue prioritising the most seriously ill and injured.
“For this reason, we are asking people whose health problems are not a threat to life or limb in the coming days to seek help elsewhere in the first instance; NHS111 is often a good place to start for advice and details on nearby services.
“We’ll have fewer doctors on duty, so we must prioritise the sickest people, and this may mean re-directing patients who attend with routine ailments or minor complaints to a more suitable place of care.”
Dr Wood added: “Some planned surgical activity will continue, as will some outpatient clinics, so where patients have been given an appointment between 3rd and 8th January and have not heard from us beforehand, they should assume their appointment is still going ahead as planned.
“We have already contacted the majority of patients whose appointments have been affected by the action to update them and try to reschedule; again we’d like to apologise for the inconvenience.
“As ever, we are grateful to all of our colleagues who will be supporting throughout the strikes, but the fact remains that our medical staffing levels will be notably reduced so we are preparing ourselves for a difficult week ahead.”
Patients can also help themselves and others by:
Ordering repeat prescriptions in plenty of time so they don’t run out of medication or other essential items
Avoiding hospital if suffering Norovirus-type symptoms such as diarrhoea and vomiting, or with cold or flu-like symptoms
Keeping a well-stocked medicine cabinet at home including painkillers, indigestion remedies and diarrhoea tablets
Using the NHS Emergency Prescription Service if a regular medication runs out completely
Taking up the offer of Covid and flu vaccinations where eligible; and
Familiarising themselves with nearby NHS services which can offer help both in and out-of-hours; these include all Walk-In and Urgent Treatment Centres and a number of local pharmacies. NHS111 remains available 24hrs/day, 365 day a year for medical advice and signposting, online or over the phone.
Full details of alternative local healthcare services can be found here.