Junior doctors are due to begin 96 hours of industrial action next week.
Members of the BMA and HCSA unions will go on strike immediately following the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, starting at 7am on Tuesday 11 April and ending at 7am on Saturday 15 April 2023.
Junior doctors are qualified doctors who have anywhere up to eight years’ experience working in hospitals. Junior doctors account for half of all doctors in the NHS, and they play a key role in the day-to-day running of hospital services and specialties.
Professor Makani Purva, chief medical officer for Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust says:
“Extended holiday periods such as Easter, when there is a four day weekend, are always busy for our hospitals as many routine services are closed. This can make it more difficult for the public to access non-urgent healthcare, but it can also make it more difficult for us to discharge patients from hospital who are medically ready to leave.
“The impact of the extended Bank Holiday, followed by a four day period without input from many of our junior doctor colleagues, will make the situation even more pressured.
“During the junior doctor strike from 13th to 15th March, we saw more than three quarters of our junior doctors who were due to work – that’s several hundred staff – take part in industrial action each day.
“Allied health professionals, specialist nursing staff, advanced practitioners and consultants all stepped in to ensure essential services were maintained, but this undoubtedly put a strain on services and led to some outpatient appointments and surgical procedures being cancelled; a situation that’s set to be repeated next week.
Bransholme Urgent Treatment Centre is open round-the-clock
“At a time of such high demand, we would really urge the public to look for the healthcare service which is most suited to their needs if they do need help over the Bank Holiday weekend and, of course, throughout the ensuing strike period.”
Patients who are due to attend hospital appointments or procedures between 11th and 15th April will be contacted if there is any need to change or reschedule their appointment. Those with appointments who do not hear from us should assume it is still going ahead and attend as planned.
Patients arriving at Hull Royal Infirmary’s Emergency Department with non-urgent health needs are likely to be asked to seek treatment elsewhere as staff seek to juggle service demands and keep patients safe. Anyone who chooses to stay in the department is expected to face significantly lengthy waits.
Medical advice is always available, 24hrs per day, through NHS111 online at 111.nhs.uk or by calling 111, free of charge.
A list of local pharmacies can be found on the NHS website, while walk-in care and treatment for minor injuries is available from the following centres across Hull and East Yorkshire, all of which are open late into the evening or round-the-clock:
- Hull – Story Street walk-in centre
- Bransholme – Urgent Treatment Centre within Bransholme Health Centre, Goodhart Road (open 24hrs)
- Beverley – Urgent Treatment Centre within East Riding Community Hospital, Swinemoor Lane
- Goole – Urgent Treatment Centre within Goole & District Hospital, Woodland Avenue
- Bridlington – Urgent Treatment Centre within Bridlington Hospital (Entrance A), Bessingby Road