Strike Action

7am Thursday 27 June until 7am Tuesday 2 July

From 7am Thursday 27 June until 7am Tuesday 2 July, junior doctors will be taking strike action at a number of NHS trusts, including the RUH. The industrial action is a national dispute between the Government and unions.

Patient safety is our top priority, and we are committed to keeping disruption caused by industrial action to a minimum. Please take a look at our Q&A leaflet for more information:

Junior Doctor Strike Action - Q&A

Junior doctors are qualified doctors in clinical training. They have completed a medical degree and foundation training, and have anywhere up to eight years' experience working as a hospital doctor, depending on their specialty.

Appointments

If you have an appointment or procedure booked, please attend unless you hear from us. You do not need to call to check if your appointment is going ahead. We will be in touch with patients directly if we need to rearrange an appointment.

Our emergency department (ED)

Our emergency department remains open 24 hours a day, if you have a life-threatening emergency.

During industrial action our Urgent Care and Emergency Departments have limited staffing. Waiting times may be longer than usual while we focus on treating our most seriously ill patients.

Urgent Care will not be staffed from midnight until 8am. If you arrive after 10pm, you may not be seen overnight. A senior clinician will assess whether you have an emergency condition and should be seen in ED or whether you should return for a booked appointment the following day.

• If you have a minor illness or minor injury, local GP surgeries and pharmacies are open.
• If you have an urgent medical problem that is not an emergency and aren’t sure what to do, contact 111 first online or by phone – they will provide immediate medical advice and direct you to the best care for your needs.
• In emergencies, please call 999.

Visiting

We continue to welcome family members and loved ones to visit patients. There are no changes to our visiting arrangements during industrial action so please continue to follow the visiting hours provided by the ward team.