Junior doctors' industrial action 25th-29th March 2024 - information for patients
Junior doctors in Wales are taking industrial action over a 96-hour period from 7am on Monday 25th March until 7am on Friday, 29th March 2024 – Good Friday.
Junior doctors play a pivotal role in supporting services across our sites, so it is inevitable that the industrial action will have an impact on our services.
During this time emergency and urgent care services will still be available, and we are concentrating on ensuring everything possible is done to support these critical services.
However the strike will have a major impact on many of our planned services, scheduled operations and prearranged appointments on those days.
Most scheduled routine operations and doctor-led outpatient appointments have been cancelled, but clinics run by nurses or other types of clinicians, like therapists, are still going ahead.
Every effort has been made to contact, patients whose appointments have been cancelled by letter, phone call and/or text message. If your appointment has been cancelled, we will contact you shortly with a new appointment date so there is no need to contact us.
If you have not received a cancellation letter, phone call or text, then please attend as per your appointment letter. (However it is possible that clinics may face some disruption, including delays or even some last minute cancellations.)
If you are unsure, or have any query regarding your appointment, please phone the number on your appointment letter. We are expecting higher than normal volumes of calls so please be patient and we will answer your call as soon as we can.
How the general public can help during this time
If you need urgent care during this period, our emergency and urgent care services will be available.
But if your illness or injury is not serious, please consider alternative ways to get the help you need:
For minor injuries, please try the Minor Injury Unit (MIU) at Neath Port Talbot Hospital. Go here for more about the MIU and the range of injuries it can treat. But note that the MIU CANNOT treat serious injuries or illness. Please don’t go to the MIU if you have chest pain, suspected stroke etc.
You can also go here to try the NHS Wales 111 online symptom-checker for advice. You can also ring NHS Wales 111 for advice, but lines can be busy, so if possible please visit the web page above as a first option before calling.
Your local pharmacy can also offer FREE over-the-counter treatments for a wide range of common ailments, once you register with them. They can also offer a limited number of prescription medicines without you needing to go to your GP. Go here for more information about how your pharmacist can help.
If you need mental health support, you can ring 111 and choose Option 2 to get through to a team of mental health practitioners.
Rydym yn croesawu gohebiaeth a galwadau ffôn yn y Gymraeg neu'r Saesneg. Atebir gohebiaeth Gymraeg yn y Gymraeg, ac ni fydd hyn yn arwain at oedi. Mae’r dudalen hon ar gael yn Gymraeg drwy bwyso’r botwm ar y dde ar frig y dudalen.
We welcome correspondence and telephone calls in Welsh or English. Welsh language correspondence will be replied to in Welsh, and this will not lead to a delay. This page is available in Welsh by clicking ‘Cymraeg’ at the top right of this page.