Emergency-only visits to A&E during strike

Anyone seeking treatment at Macclesfield Hospital, during a planned strike, are being urged to only visit A&E in an emergency.

The British Medical Association (BMA) has announced a further round of strikes by Junior Doctors from 7 am on Saturday 24th February to 11.59 pm on Wednesday 28th February.

The industrial action will impact all East Cheshire NHS Trust sites including Macclesfield District General Hospital, Knutsford District and Community Hospital, and Congleton War Memorial Hospital, and is likely to cause significant disruption.  

This means that, for striking staff, all work including nights, on-call shifts, and non-resident work will stop.

Dr John Hunter, Medical Director for East Cheshire NHS Trust, said: “We are working closely with partners to ensure appropriate plans are enacted to deal with this disruption.”

“We are also working closely with union representatives to maintain the safety and welfare of our patients during planned staff walkouts, and to ensure any impact on our services are minimised.”

“Junior doctors are an important part of the team and work in almost every part of a busy hospital, including in A&E, maintaining the flow of patients through the hospital and ensuring beds are available for those who need them the most.”

“During the upcoming industrial, we would like to urge local residents to only call 999 or attend our Emergency Department in a life-threatening emergency. Typical emergencies include cardiac arrest, loss of consciousness, fits that are not stopping, breathing difficulties, severe bleeding, allergic reactions and serious head injuries.”