ADVICE has been issued to residents ahead of the impending strikes set to ‘severely’ hit Warrington Hospital.

The five-day walkout of junior doctors will begin tomorrow, Thursday, and last until next Tuesday.

The British Medical Association (BMA) says this action will then be followed by a 28-hour strike by hospital consultations from Thursday, July 20, to Saturday, July 2022.

Consultants will provide a ‘Christmas Day’ level of cover as a minimum throughout this peripd.

Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals (WHH) is set to be ‘severely impacted’ by the strikes along with all NHS trusts across the region.

The public is being advised that significant service disruption is highly likely.

They are being urged to use NHS 111 Online for all non-emergency healthcare needs during the prolonged period of strike action.

WHH Executive Medical Director, Dr Paul Fitzsimmons said: “We are planning for a particularly challenging period. Our focus is on ensuring critical care and emergency services remain available to those in most urgent need and that those patients on our wards during industrial action remain safe throughout.

“Industrial action of this scale and duration is unprecedented and sadly there will be an impact for some of our patients as it will be necessary to postpone some appointments and procedures. Longer waits for urgent and emergency care should also be expected.

“We will do all we can to reschedule any missed appointments as soon as possible. Patients who are not contacted directly by the trust should continue to attend for appointments as planned.

“The public can also help us by using health services responsibly and appropriately. This means going to NHS 111 Online for advice and seeking help from pharmacies, and urgent treatment centres for non-emergency care.”

NHS 111 Online can ensure that patients are signposted to the right service. The online service works the same as over the phone and is already popular with people who want quick advice about the best options for getting the care they need. These can include a call back from a trained clinician or nurse, an appointment in A&E or other advice.

Urgent and emergency care services will remain open during industrial action and in the event of an emergency people should always call 999.

More information about when to call 999 and when to go to A&E is available via the  visit https://www.cheshireandmerseyside.nhs.uk/posts/nhs-industrial-action/