Industrial action by members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is taking place from 8pm on Sunday 30 April to 11.59pm on Monday 1 May and will impact on the following NHS trusts:

• North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust
• Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust
• The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
• Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust

In addition, members of the Unite union at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust will also be striking on Tuesday 2 May. This action is part of ongoing negotiations between trade unions representing NHS staff and the Government regarding pay.

Bank Holidays are always a busy time for the NHS so we are expecting significant service disruption when this coincides with strike action this weekend.

Our response

The NHS in Greater Manchester has tried and tested plans in place to mitigate risks to patient safety and manage any disruption, including industrial action.

During strike action the NHS in Greater Manchester will prioritise resources to protect emergency treatment,
critical care, neonatal care, and trauma, and ensure we prioritise patients who have waited the longest for elective care and cancer surgery.

The NHS will contact you if your appointment needs to be rescheduled due to strike action. If you have not been contacted, please attend your appointment as planned.

How you can help

Use NHS 111 Online as the first port of call for health needs and only use 999 or the emergency department (A&E) if it’s life-threatening.

Urgent and emergency care services will be open over the bank holiday and during industrial action. People should call 999 or attend accident and emergency services in the event of a life-threatening emergency.

It is really important that patients who need urgent or emergency medical care continue to come forward as normal during strike action.

The latest waiting times for the Emergency Department at Royal Bolton Hospital can be found on the Bolton NHS Foundation Trust website.

If your relative or friend is due to be discharged from hospital and needs to be collected, please do whatever you can to help bring them home as early as possible to free-up a hospital bed for someone waiting to be admitted.

Please continue to attend your GP and dental appointments unless you are contacted and told otherwise.

Ahead of the bank holiday and period of industrial action, we would urge the public to not to leave it too late to order any repeat prescriptions ensuring they have stock of any regular medications.

The NHS in Greater Manchester are thankful to our staff across health and care who are working tirelessly and grateful to the public for their understanding as the demand for services grows.