Local NHS leaders are urging people to only attend A&E departments across the district with life-threatening emergencies as hospitals will be under significant pressure due to the junior doctors’ 72-hours’ industrial action this week.
If people attend A&E with non-urgent or emergency conditions they will be waiting significantly longer than usual.
If you need medical help or advice, or are unsure about whether you should go to hospital, visit NHS 111 online unless it is a life-threatening emergency when you should still call 999.
The industrial action, which affects hospitals across the country, began this morning, Wednesday, 14 June and ends on Saturday morning, 17 June.
If people have not been contacted, please continue to attend your hospital appointment as planned. We will contact you if your appointment needs to be rescheduled.
Saj Azeb, Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Executive at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said:
The junior doctors’ industrial action will severely reduce the number of doctors we have in our hospitals, and this has a particular impact in A&E. That’s why we have to prioritise the clinically most urgent patients.
People can really help us during this time by only using A&E services when absolutely necessary. There are many other ways to get healthcare advice and treatment which will be quicker and will help us care for those who need us most.
Leanne Cooper, Chief Operating Officer at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust added:
We need the public’s help to only come to A&E if it is a genuine emergency so we can care for our sickest patients.
The impact of the industrial action and the fact we will have fewer doctors on site means that waiting times for non-urgent problems are likely to be longer than normal. We encourage you to seek help from NHS 111, your GP or local pharmacist and avoid a long wait.
During the current hot weather people should take extra care to stay well and not get dehydrated, overheat or suffer heat exhaustion and heatstroke, which can make someone seriously ill. For tips on how to cope in the hot weather, see Heatwave: how to cope in hot weather (nhs.uk).