HOSPITAL services remain under 'intense pressure' following prolonged industrial action from junior doctors, health chiefs have warned. 

On Monday, April 10, junior doctors began their latest strike action over an ongoing dispute with the government about failings in patient care and restoration of what they were being paid in 2008. This continued until 7am on Saturday, April 15.

As a result, services at local hospitals are expected to remain under intense pressure during the weekend and into the coming week. 

To combat this, local people are being asked to continue to help by understanding what local services are available to them and using them appropriately over the coming days.

Dr Jon Westbrook, chief medical officer at Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “It’s important that local people know that while our services are busier than usual, and waiting times may be longer, all patients who need our help will be seen by a clinical practitioner.

“It’s also crucial that people only come to the hospital if they really need to be here and they are aware that appropriate treatment that better suits their needs can be found through local GP Practices, Pharmacies and other health care services.

“People can also use NHS 111 online if they are not sure what to do, or which service to use. It’s available 24 hours a day, every day.

“For life-threatening emergencies, people should continue to call 999.”

The hospital's chief executive Kevin McNamara has posted on Twitter to say thank you to his staff for their work during the week. 

"Huge thanks to all of the teams that stepped in to provide essential cover during the strike this week and those who rearranged holidays and annual leave to keep as much as we could going," he said. 

More information about local health services and how to access them across BSW can be found at BSW Your Health.

Gill May, Chief Nurse at Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board said: “Our colleagues across BSW have been working incredibly hard since the industrial action started on Monday and we expect the resulting pressures on our services to become more challenging each day this strike progresses.

“We would like to thank members of the public for their support over the past few days but we are reminding people that this period of industrial action will continue until Saturday morning and services will be extremely busy over the weekend and into the early part of next week.”