NHS patients facing 'significant angst' as GPs forced to postpone appointments for bank holiday 🔴 GPs have been forced to rearrange hundreds of thousands of appointments ahead of Monday
Health bosses said NHS trusts were ‘striking a careful balance’ between responding to staff who wish to observe the bank holiday on the day of the state funeral, and ensuring services are properly staffed Hundreds of thousands of patients have been told their GP and hospital appointments have been cancelled on the dayHospital trusts are expected to make their own decisions around appointments based on local staffing levels and transport disruption.
Some hospitals have urged patients to wait to be contacted with news about their appointment. Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “Following the announcement of the plans for the late Her Majesty The Queen’s state funeral on Monday September 19 2022, some non-urgent planned care appointments/procedures across Bedfordshire Hospitals will be postponed.“However we must clarify that both hospitals will remain open with urgent planned and unplanned/emergency care continuing as normal.
“Our hospitals will be running a special bank holiday service on Monday 19 September in recognition of the Queen’s state funeral, with arrangements made to ensure high-priority patients continue to be treated.” “In line with guidance from government and NHS England, they and their teams are working hard to prepare for this unplanned bank holiday.”