A&E department closes due to industrial action

Cheltenham Hospital. Credit: Getty/Steve Bateman

By Angela Walker

The emergency department at Cheltenham General Hospital has closed due to strike action by trainee doctors.

Patients needing emergency care will need to attend Gloucester Royal Hospital instead and are being urged to do so only for life-threatening conditions and serious injuries.

Cheltenham's emergency department will temporarily close at various points in the coming weeks, including from Tuesday 19 December to Saturday 23 December, during the trainee doctor strike.

It will close again from Monday 1 January until Tuesday 9 January.

The minor injury or illness unit (MIIU) will also be shut.

'Substantial challenges'

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said that the highest priorities are to minimise disruption as far as possible, care for those in most immediate and urgent need and safeguard patient care.

Chief medical officer, Dr Ananthakrishnan Raghuram (Raghu) MBE said: “The latest round of strikes at the busiest time of the year will bring substantial challenges to the local NHS, particularly hospital services, and we are sorry that many patients will experience disruption to services.