Junior Doctors Industrial Action Strikes
Emergency, urgent care and maternity services are available for patients who need them. We are prioritising resources to protect emergency treatment, critical care, neonatal care, maternity, and trauma, and ensure we prioritise patients who have waited the longest for urgent elective care and some cancer surgery. Services are working under immense pressure.
- It is important that the public do not hesitate to come forward to access care if they need it. NHS 111 online should be their first port of call if they need urgent health advice on days of strike action.
- More information is available on our dedicated industrial action webpage: Information for the public on industrial action (strikes) | Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership (gmintegratedcare.org.uk).
- People should attend all appointments including at GP practices unless they have been contacted to not attend.
- While You Wait has information for people waiting for planned hospital treatment including for staff. People can find advice on how to manage their physical and mental health while they wait.
Useful information
Where to get help from? Get to know where to go:
NHS 111:
NHS Greater Manchester is urging members of the public to use NHS 111 Online for all non-emergency healthcare needs, in the first instance, unless the issue concerns a child under 5, when they should call 111. Deaf people or people with hearing loss can dial 18001 111 on a textphone or use the Relay UK app (which can be downloaded from Apple’s App Store or Google Play Store). NHS 111 Online can help if:
- You need help but don’t know who to call,
- How to find general health information and advice,
- You are ill and need to be told what to do next, and
- How to get an emergency supply of your prescribed medicine.
GP:
Contact your GP surgery for appointments about illnesses or injuries that won’t go away. Many GPs offer an out-of-hours service later in the evening and early morning. If you phone your GP during this time, please listen to the answerphone message for information on how to access GP out-of-hours.
Pharmacy:
Lots of illnesses can also be managed safely at home, or with a trip to a local pharmacist. There
are pharmacies open late in to the night and very early in the morning. Find your nearest one here: Find a pharmacy - NHS (www.nhs.uk).
Urgent dental care:
The Greater Manchester Urgent Dental Care Service is available from 8am to 10pm every day including weekends for severe dental pain and infection. People can call 0333 332 3800 to be assessed by a healthcare professional, who can provide self-care advice or book a face-to-face appointment, if needed.
Urgent eye care:
Free urgent eyecare is available across all 10 areas of Greater Manchester. If you have a sudden
and urgent problem with your eyes, you can contact a local practice to get an appointment: NHS Greater Manchester Community Urgent Eye Care Service (CUES) - Primary Eyecare Services.
Mental health:
For free urgent mental health support, people can contact one of these 24/7 helplines – they’re available to anyone of any age:
- Bolton, Manchester, Salford, Trafford, and Wigan 0800 953 0285 (freephone).
- Bury, Heywood, Middleton & Rochdale, Oldham, Stockport, and Tameside 0800 014 9995 (freephone).
If there’s an immediate risk of danger to life, you should ring 999.
People can also help themselves and others by:
- Ordering repeat prescriptions in plenty of time so they don’t run out of medication or other essential items.
- Avoiding hospital if suffering Norovirus-type symptoms such as diarrhoea and vomiting, or with cold or flu-like symptoms.
- Keeping a well-stocked medicine cabinet at home including painkillers, indigestion relief, antihistamines for mild allergies, and anti-diarrhoea (diarrhoea relief) tablets.
- Having the flu vaccine if eligible.
