Advice on how to get medical help during doctors' strike

COUNTY NHS TRUST GIVES STEPS TO ENSURE BEST CARE OVER FIVE DAYS

- By STAFF REPORTER

THE NHS has issued advice on getting the right care ahead of a five-day resident doctors’ strike which is planned to start today.

More patients are “likely to feel the impact” of strike action in England as hospitals deal with record flu cases during the walkout, officials have said.

Hospitals have been told to aim to deliver 95 per cent of usual activity during the strike, though health leaders have conceded this could be “more challenging due to the onset of winter pressures and rising flu’

Resident doctors, who work mainly in hospitals, are due to be on strike from 7am today to 7am on Monday, December 22.

People in Leicestershire and Rutland are asked to attend any planned medical appointments as normal, as the NHS will get in touch if an appointment needs to be rescheduled. GP practices will also be open as normal.

Professor Damian Roland, clinical lead for Urgent and Emergency Care for the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland health and care system, said: “We have put our well-established plans into action again and will be working very hard, so people can continue to get the care they need.

“It is vital that people come forward for care if they do need it, to prevent health problems from becoming more serious.