Please use NHS services wisely during junior doctors strike

The strike, which began yesterday (Tuesday) and will run until to 7am on Saturday (April 15) due to a dispute over pay, and as junior doctors nationally make up half the medical workforce, the current round of strikes will significantly impact NHS services and people should use alternative sources of medical help and advice if appropriate.

Anyone needing urgent medical care should still seek it, and patients should also attend planned appointments unless the NHS contacts them to rearrange.

“We want to be really clear that anyone with a life threatening medical issue should still call 999 – in all cases priority will be given to those with the most medically urgent needs,” said Rebecca Neno, Deputy Director, System Delivery, NHS Lincolnshire ICB.

“However, at the same time, we also need to remind people who need help with a non-life threatening medical issue to make use of the alternative sources of help and advice available, such as NHS 111 online.

“In addition, you can call 111 and, of course, GP practices and local pharmacies are open and able to offer advice and help. In Lincolnshire we also have the Waitless App, which can be downloaded and enables you to view live waiting time, queue numbers and travel time information for our urgent care facilities in the county.”

The NHS in Lincolnshire is asking for help, not only when it comes to using services wisely but also when it comes to discharging medically fit people from hospitals.

“Now more than ever we need to prioritise emergency, urgent and critical care for those who need it and one of the things we need help with, particularly from patients’ families, carers and friends with, is getting medically fit patients out of hospital and back home,” Rebecca added.

“There are lots of reasons why long hospital stays are not good for patients, not least of which is the evidence that shows it’s better for a patient’s physical and mental wellbeing to leave hospital as soon as they are medically fit.“However, during times of intense pressure when our resources are stretched, although we are working very hard to discharge patients who are medically fit, this isn’t always straightforward without the help and support of their families and friends.

“I do appreciate this is sometimes a daunting task but there is help out there to support you and those you care for once they are home from hospital. So if there is someone you care for who is medically fit to leave hospital, please help us to make this happen.”