• Senior Doctors (Consultants): Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 September, 2023
  • Junior Doctors: Wednesday 20, Thursday 21 and Friday 22 September, 2023

Cheltenham A&E will switch to a Minor Injury and Illness Unit (MIIU) from 8am to 8pm on Monday 18 September.

Cheltenham A&E/MIIU will then temporarily shut from 8pm on Monday 18 September to 8am on Saturday 23 September.

Emergency care services (A&E) will be centralised at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital 24/7 during this period.

The public are strongly advised to only attend A&E at Gloucester if their condition is serious or life-threatening. Please use alternative provision such as 111.nhs.uk in the first instance or call NHS 111.

Patients who have a planned operation, procedure or outpatient clinic between Tuesday 19 September and Friday 22 September should attend as usual unless they hear directly from the Hospitals Trust to advise otherwise.

GP practices and other Community Minor Injury and Illness Units across the county will continue to provide services during this period.

The local NHS has today warned that the latest round of strikes scheduled for September will pose substantial challenges to hospital services and the impact will be felt for well over a week.

Whilst the NHS locally is making plans to keep essential services available, leaders have warned that the strike will cause unavoidable disruption.

The coordinated BMA industrial action by Senior Doctors (Consultants) and Junior Doctors gets underway on the 19 September, with temporary service changes being made in the run up.

The temporary changes announced today will again help NHS services to prepare for industrial action and enable available emergency care staff to come together at Gloucester to keep services safe.

While patients can also expect cancellations to planned outpatient appointments, procedures and operations, they are being advised to attend as usual throughout the period of industrial action unless they hear directly from the Trust to inform them otherwise.

Given the need to ensure safe staffing arrangements in emergency care and other critical services many appointments will need to be rearranged.

There will be no disruption to patient visiting arrangements on these days. However, the local NHS Trusts are asking relatives and carers to do everything they can to work with their staff to get their loved ones home from hospital as quickly and as safely as possible, with additional support, if necessary, from local NHS community services or adult social care teams.

Chief Medical Officer at NHS Gloucestershire, Dr Andy Seymour said:

“The latest round of strikes will bring substantial challenges to the local NHS, particularly hospital services, and we are sorry that many patients will experience disruption to services.

One Gloucestershire health and care partners are working closely together to ensure those in greatest need continue to have access to high quality care and support.

We cannot emphasise enough how important it will be to keep A&E in Gloucester clear for life threatening conditions and serious injuries.

The public can help by thinking carefully about their healthcare options and getting advice when needed from NHS 111. Advice will also be available through local NHS social media channels.”

Getting healthcare advice

Many parts of the NHS – hospitals, community services and GP practices – are likely to feel the impact of the industrial action – either directly or indirectly – so local people are being urged to use services responsibly.

If people have an urgent care need, but are not sure which service to use, they are asked to visit 111.nhs.uk in the first instance or call 111 for advice. The 111 phone service can book people into local NHS services if required, but is likely to see an increase in calls.

111 online and the local ASAP Glos NHS website and app can provide information on the services provided by Community Pharmacies, GP surgeries, including the Gloucester Health Access Centre, Community Minor Injury and Illness Units and A&E.

A number of Community Hospital Minor Injury and Illness Units (MIIUs) across the county will be open on the days – 8am to 8pm. People can check on the best Unit to meet their needs and book an appointment by calling the local MIIU line: 0300 421 7777 or 111.

On the day service updates and advice on the industrial action will be available through local NHS social media channels and websites.

Further public information about the industrial action, including FAQs, has been published by NHS England and can be found here.