Doctor strikes: West Midlands health chiefs' message to patients as strike enters day four
Patients across the region have been urged to treat hospital admission as 'normal service' in the wake of five days of strikes by resident doctors.
The doctors are now into the fourth day of action after starting at 7am on Friday - it is set to end at 7am on Wednesday.
They rejected a fresh offer from the Government to end the long-running row over jobs and pay, saying it “does not go far enough”.
Three of the trusts serving the region have responded with advice for patients, saying staff are 'pulling together' to provide safe care during the five planned days of action.
Diane Wake, group chief executive at The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust and Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, said: “We have plans in place to provide a safe service for patients requiring emergency care and continue with urgent planned care during the industrial action by resident doctors.
"In a small number of cases, we have rescheduled clinics to see patients quickly following the strike. Patients should attend their planned appointments as usual unless we have contacted them to advise otherwise.
“Our staff are pulling together in the interests of our patients to provide safe care during the next five days, and we will be reviewing activity on a regular basis throughout this period so we can respond appropriately.
"Regardless of any strike action taking place, it is really important that patients who need urgent medical care continue to come forward as normal, especially in emergency and serious life-threatening cases - when someone is seriously ill or injured, or their life is at risk."
University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust deputy medical director Dr Mark Poulson said: “Patient safety is our absolute priority.
"We have comprehensive plans in place and are working closely with our healthcare partners to ensure essential urgent and emergency services remain available so patients can continue to access the care they need, when they need it most.
“We ask patients to support NHS staff during these five days by using services wisely. Please only use emergency departments and 999 for life-threatening conditions so that care is available for those who need it most.
"For all other health concerns, use NHS 111 online as your first port of call for advice, support, and signposting.
“Thanks to careful planning, the impact on planned care is being kept as limited as possible. We ask patients to attend their scheduled appointments unless they hear directly from us about any changes.
“We would like to thank the public for their understanding and support, and we remain extremely grateful to our staff for their continued hard work and dedication.”
