Industrial action update

Hospitals and other health and care services across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire continue to be very busy during the strike action by the British Medical Association (BMA). 

The industrial action, which is being led by the BMA, is set to end at 7am on Thursday 16 March.

Health and care organisations in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire are working together to mitigate the impact of this industrial action being taken by junior doctors and are continuing to ask residents to do their bit to help as well. 

Dave Briggs, Medical Director at NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, said: “We are working together to make sure that critical services continue and our priority is to keep people safe.

“I want to ask the public to please help during this challenging time by only calling 999 or attending A&E in a genuine emergency. There are other services available, including our Urgent Treatment Centres and NHS111, GPs and pharmacies, so please choose the right service for your needs.”

Dr Keith Girling, Medical Director of Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust said: “We’d like to thank the public for their support during the junior doctors’ industrial action so far. The actions we have put in place to ensure we can continue to care for emergency and urgent patients have been effective and we’d like to thank everyone who has helped.

“We have consultants staffing all areas 24/7, and East Midlands Ambulance Service colleagues are working very hard to treat patients at home where appropriate. However, our Emergency Department is still very busy, which means patients are sometimes waiting a long time to be seen. Please consider whether you really need to come to ED. If you call 111, trained colleagues can advise on the best place for you to be seen in the quickest time.

“Please be aware of the extra pressures under which our staff are working and be patient if our responses are slower than normal.”

Dr David Selwyn, Medical Director at Sherwood Forest Hospitals, said: “We are doing all we can to keep essential urgent and emergency services running so that patients can continue to access the vital medical attention they need.

“We saw higher numbers than usual attending our Emergency Department and Urgent Treatment Centres on the first day of industrial action yesterday, which was actually our second-busiest day of 2023 so far.

“And while your NHS is here to see you safely throughout this industrial action, there are significantly fewer doctors to call upon – which means it could take longer for patients with less urgent concerns to be seen. That’s why we need the public’s help to ensure our hardworking teams can continue to focus on those patients who need our care most. Please choose the right service for your needs and continue to attend your appointments as planned, unless we contact you to rearrange.”

The Urgent Community Response (UCR) Service has been supporting by visiting people who are waiting for an ambulance and providing help. The UCR is a proactive service that visits people within a two-hour period who are at risk of being admitted to hospital. The team can support in cases where someone has had a fall, has an infection or may have a crisis due to a breakdown in care support.

Paramedics from East Midlands Ambulance Service have also been supporting the response in A&E to help reduce the pressure on hospital staff.  These trained professionals are able to support patients getting to the right part of the hospital as quickly as possible and support them whilst they are waiting. 

A significant number of elective procedures and outpatient appointments have also been postponed so staff can be redeployed to urgent and emergency care services.

How you can help:

• Only call 999 or attend A&E departments for serious accidents and for genuine emergencies.
• If your relative is due to be discharged from hospital and needs to be collected, please do so as early as possible. This will help our teams and free up a hospital bed for someone waiting to be admitted.
• If you are unsure where you should go, NHS 111 can help – search online for “NHS 111” or dial 111 from any phone. This will make sure you are seen in the right place and by the right person.
• Consider using Urgent Treatment Centres (UTCs). They can treat injuries including sprains, strains, suspected fractures, bites, cuts, scalds, and other non-life-threatening conditions. Waiting times are usually much shorter than A&E. We have UTCs at:
  • Nottingham – The NHS Urgent Care Centre (next to the BBC building) is open every day from 7am-7pm. You don’t need an appointment to attend. Seaton House, London Road, Nottingham, NG2 4LA Tel: 0115 883 8500
  • Newark – Newark Hospital is open 9am-10pm (last patient admitted at 9.30pm). It can be found on Boundary Road, NG24 4DE
  • Ilkeston Community Hospital – is open 8am – 8pm. It can be found on Heanor Road, Ilkeston, Derbyshire, DE7 8LN. You can book into this service via 111.
• Use the NHS App for access to a wide range of services and information, such as accessing medical records, booking and managing appointments, reviewing medication and ordering prescriptions as well as checking symptoms.
• For other non-urgent cases, when you need medical advice and it’s not an emergency, please speak to your GP practice or a pharmacist – see details of your local pharmacy here: https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/pharmacy/find-a-pharmacy
• Anyone who is in mental health distress should call the Mental Health Crisis Line: 0808 196 3779 – the helpline is open 24 hours a day.