A busy Easter weekend and a second junior doctors strike will put pressure on Swindon's hospital over the next week.

Great Western Hospital is expecting to see an increase in patients between Good Friday and Easter Monday, before junior medics will walk out on Tuesday for five days as part of the British Medical Association's dispute with the government about pay and working conditions.

A hospital spokesperson warned that this "will be very disruptive for staff and patients" but the management team is aiming to keep as many services running as possible over the next 10 days. 

There will be enough resources to protect emergency treatment, critical care, neonatal care, and trauma services.

But services will only run if it is safe to do so – appointments will be cancelled if a safe level of medical cover cannot be achieved.

The spokesperson added: "As always, our priority is to deliver is as much safe care as possible, and we are sorry for the impact this is having on our patients."

Anyone with appointments booked during the strike days should attend as normal. If the pre-booked arrangement is cancelled, the hospital will contact the patients directly and will try to re-book them at the earliest opportunity.

If you haven’t heard from the hospital, the appointment is still planned to go ahead.

During this difficult period, the public is being asked to "use their health service wisely" and consider where the best place is to be treated.

Contact 111 online in the first instance for advice and guidance.

The hospital spokesperson added: "An acute hospital setting is often not the best place for patients to be seen, and 111, pharmacies, or GPs are generally more appropriate places for most conditions.

"In an emergency, always contact 999."

Those attending GWH's Urgent Treatment Centre or Emergency Department will be seen by a clinician but it may take much longer to be seen than usual. They may be seen more quickly by contacting 111 instead.

The GWH spokesperson said: "If you do attend an appointment or our urgent or emergency services, please be patient. Our staff are working extremely hard to see you as quickly as they possibly can.

"We value the hard work and dedication of all our junior doctor colleagues and while pay is a matter for government and trade unions, we know it is an issue of real concern and we want to see a resolution as soon as possible."