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’ four-day industrial action next week.
If people attend A&E with non-urgent or emergency conditions they will be waiting significantly longer than usual.
Instead, they should visit www.111.nhs.uk or call 111, or contact their local GP or pharmacist.
The 96-hour industrial action, which will affect hospitals across the country, begins after the Easter bank holiday on Tuesday morning, 11 April and run continuously until the day shift starts on Saturday, 15 April.
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 life or limb-threatening emergency so we can care for our sickest patients.
If you do come with a non-urgent problem your wait time will be significantly longer. We encourage you to seek help from NHS 111, your GP or local pharmacist and avoid a long wait.