Information for public during the ambulance and nursing industrial action

The public are being advised that regardless of industrial action, emergency care will continue and people should continue to contact 999 or attend an Emergency Department for a life-saving emergency.

The action is expected to include staff from East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, Queen Victoria NHS Foundation Trust, University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, and our two ambulance providers – South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation and South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS).

It does not include nurses working in community services, mental health services or GP practices.

As previously, regardless of any strike action taking place, patients who need urgent medical care will be prioritised, especially in emergency and life-threatening cases – when someone is seriously ill or injured, or their life is at risk.

There will be fewer ambulances on the roads during the industrial action, but the NHS will be prioritising those with life-threatening needs. Ambulances will still be able to respond in these situations, but this may only be where there is an immediate risk to life.

As with the ambulance strikes, in terms of hospital care, emergency care will remain open, with walk-in emergency and urgent services open to patients including Emergency Departments, A&E, Urgent Treatment Centres and Minor Injuries Units.

Some planned appointments will be affected as trusts ensure that available staff are focused on those who need care and support most. NHS teams are contacting patients directly if their appointment does need to be rescheduled and everyone will be offered an alternative date. If people have not been contacted, they are being encouraged to attend appointments as planned.

Services in our community which are helping us to manage the current high demand will also continue over the two days, such as urgent community response teams and our virtual ward teams.GP services, pharmacies and dental practices will be running as normal on strike days but are anticipated to be busy.

NHS Sussex Chief Medical Officer, Dr Dinesh Sinha, said: “Patient safety is our absolute priority and we have been working across health and care to ensure that any disruption to patient care is kept to a minimum.“Regardless of strike action, people should continue to come forward if they need NHS help and support. Services are available to help you and make sure you get the best care.“Some patients will be contacted directly to have appointments rescheduled, but everyone will get a new date as soon as possible. If you do have an appointment and the NHS has not been in touch, please continue to attend as originally planned, so as not to delay your care.“We ask for the public’s support and patience during these two days of industrial action so that those who most need help and treatment can get the care they need.”

Advice for the public and patients

It is important the public play their part and ‘Help Us Help You’ to ensure everyone gets the care and support they need. Local people are asked to take the following actions:

• Think very carefully about choosing the most appropriate NHS service for your needs and only use 999 and A&E departments for serious or life-threatening emergencies, such as chest pain, severe bleeding or breathing difficulties.• If you do need support and care, it may take longer than you might expect to be seen and treated, so please be patient and continue to use the most appropriate service for your needs.• Please collect family and friends from hospital as soon as they are ready to be discharged, and support the discharge process to available community beds, to allow acute hospital beds to be freed up for those who need them most.• If you do have loved ones in hospital, please think considerately about calling wards to speak to local teams. You are still able to visit but the nurses and teams working on wards will be focused on caring for patients.• Stay away from our hospitals if you have symptoms of flu or Covid or have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, unless it is an emergency.• Keep yourself protected and boost your immunity with COVID-19 and flu vaccinations if you are eligible.

All the information to help you know which services are available to you and how you access them is available on our website.