We are expecting our services at Ashford and St Peter’s hospitals to be under significant pressure during the junior doctors’ industrial action from 07:00 on Wednesday 20 December until 07:00 on Saturday 23 December and from 07:00 on Wednesday 3 January until 07:00 on Tuesday 9 January.
This means that some planned care - appointments, procedures, and operations, may be postponed, to help us safely provide emergency care. We would like to apologise to you for the disruption, and to thank you for your understanding.
Appointments
If this industrial action impacts your planned care, we will have contacted you by letter or telephone to reschedule your appointment. We appreciate this can be a distressing time and we will do everything we can to rebook your surgery or treatment as soon as possible.
Please continue to attend all appointments unless you are contacted and advised otherwise. If you have a query, please contact the number given on your appointment / cancellation letter.
Patient Transport: If your appointment / procedure is re-arranged (and you have requested transport to and from your appointment) please ensure you cancel this in advance by calling 0300 123 9840.
The NHS will be busier than normal, so we ask that you be patient and kind to all members of staff, especially our frontline healthcare workers and colleagues who are working hard to reschedule your appointment.
Regardless of any strike action taking place, it is really important that patients who need urgent medical care continue to come forward as normal, especially in emergency and life-threatening cases – when someone is seriously ill or injured, or their life is at risk.
Help us to help you
Thank you for choosing services responsibly:
Only visit our Emergency Department (A&E) if you need emergency care or have a life-threatening illness. If you have an emergency, you should continue to call 999.
If you have a minor illness or injury, there are other services that can help you and you may be seen quicker. Visit our Choose Well section or call 111 or visit 111.nhs.uk.
