People across the region are being reminded that hospital services are still under extreme pressure as a result of industrial action by junior doctors.
The impact is expected to remain into the week.
Services at local hospitals including Swindon's Great Western Hospital are under intense pressure and local people are being asked to continue to help by understanding what local services are available to them and using them appropriately over the coming days.
Dr Jon Westbrook, Chief Medical Officer at Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It’s important that local people know that while our services are busier than usual, and waiting times may be longer, all patients who need our help will be seen by a clinical practitioner.
“It’s also crucial that people only come to hospital if they really need to be here and they are aware that appropriate treatment that better suits their needs can be found through local GP Practices, Pharmacies and other health care services.
“People can also use NHS 111 online if they are not sure what to do, or which service to use. It’s available 24 hours a day, every day.
“For life-threatening emergencies people should continue to call 999.”
Gill May, Chief Nurse at Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board said: “Our colleagues across BSW have been working incredibly hard since the industrial action started on Monday and we expect the resulting pressures on our services to become more challenging each day this strike progresses.
“We would like to thank members of the public for their support over the past few days but we are reminding people that this period of industrial action will continue until Saturday morning and services will be extremely busy over the weekend and into the early part of next week.”
More information about local health services and how to access them can be found at www.bswtogether.org.uk/yourhealth/
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