The public is urged to only attend the Emergency Department or dial 999 if their condition is life-threatening or serious.
17:02, 12 Nov 2025Updated 17:05, 12 Nov 2025
Ambulances outside Gloucestershire Royal Hospital (file image)
Ahead of industrial action by Resident Doctors, the NHS in Gloucestershire has announced a series of temporary and pre-planned service changes to help maintain patient safety and emergency care.
The changes, announced today (Wednesday, November 12), aim to help NHS services prepare for the strike which runs from Friday morning to next Wednesday morning and enable available emergency care staff to come together at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital in Gloucester to keep services safe.
While the local NHS is making plans to keep essential services available and minimise disruption as much as possible, the strike is set to present significant challenges.
NHS Gloucestershire said the highest priority will be to care for those in most immediate and urgent need and protect patient care.
Emergency care services will be centralised at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital 24/7 during the industrial action from Friday (November 14) at 7am to Wednesday, November 19 at 7am.
The public is urged to only attend the Emergency Department or dial 999 if their condition is life-threatening or serious.
Community Minor Injury and Illness Units and GP practices across the county will continue to provide services.
The public can seek advice on their healthcare options at 111.nhs.uk or by calling 111.
Cheltenham General Hospital(Image: Google)What will change
- Cheltenham’s Emergency Department will temporarily switch to a Minor Injury and Illness Unit (MIIU) from 8pm on Thursday, November 13.
- Daytime (8am–8pm): The department will operate as an MIIU from Friday, November 14 to Tuesday, November 18.
- Overnight (8pm–8am): The department will be closed overnight from Friday, November 14 until 8am on Wednesday, November 19.
The Emergency Department service at Cheltenham General Hospital will resume at 8am on Wednesday, November 19.
Patients who have a planned hospital operation, outpatient clinic, or procedure between Friday, November 14 and Wednesday, November 19 should attend as usual unless they hear otherwise from their NHS Trust.
However, due to the need to ensure safe staffing arrangements in emergency care and other critical services, some appointments will need to be rearranged.
Gloucestershire Royal Hospital(Image: Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)What NHS Gloucestershire is saying
Chief Medical Officer at NHS Gloucestershire, Dr Ananthakrishnan Raghuram (Raghu), said: “The five-day strike is likely to pose significant challenges to the local NHS, particularly hospital services, and we are sorry that patients might experience some disruption to services.
“One Gloucestershire health and care partners are working closely together to ensure those in greatest need continue to have access to high-quality care and support. We are extremely grateful to the staff who will be working during this period to keep essential services running for patients.
“It’s also vital that we all work together to keep the Emergency Department in Gloucester clear for life-threatening conditions and serious injuries.
“The public can help by thinking carefully about their healthcare options and getting advice when needed from NHS 111. Advice will also be available through local NHS social media channels.”
What the Health Secretary is saying
The Health Secretary has made a last-minute plea to resident doctors to call off their strike, but said the NHS would “do everything we can to keep the show on the road”.
Wes Streeting is urging members of the British Medical Association (BMA) to scrap their walkout, which is scheduled to last for five days from 7am on Friday, and said doctors have seen an average increase in pay of 28.9%.
Mr Streeting said he would not move further on pay, despite calls from the BMA for a 26% uplift to counter what it says is pay erosion over time.
He said: “It is extremely frustrating, in fact, self-defeating that the BMA have chosen to go on strike, not least because this is the group of staff — the resident doctors — who’ve had a 28.9% pay rise from this Government – from me as Health Secretary.
“They’ve also had the highest pay increase of the entire public sector two years on the trot.
“And even after all of that, I have been sat around the table in good faith with BMA resident doctors to say: ‘I can’t move any more on pay, we can’t afford to – look at the public finances, read the room’.
“What I can do is create 1,000 extra jobs right now that we need in training places, cancel things like the exam fees and other out-of-pocket expenses that they have complained about.
“So even after the 28.9% pay rise, I’ve also said that there are other things I can do and want to do to improve your life.
“I’ve got to be honest, if they are out on strike this week costing us just shy of a quarter of a billion pounds, some of the things I’ve offered as additional will no longer be affordable this year.
“So they’re not only setting back the NHS recovery, they’re not only disrupting care for patients, they’re also shooting themselves in the foot.”
NHS England calls for ‘laser focus’ during strikes
NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey has written to NHS trust leaders urging them to keep the majority of services operating during the strike and said rescheduling appointments and operations should “only happen in exceptional circumstances to safeguard patient safety”.
Sir Jim called for a “laser focus” on four priority areas, including maintaining emergency care and maternity services, ensuring efficient discharge of patients fit to go home, and “maintaining elective care to the fullest extent possible – with at least 95% of elective activity continuing compared with what would otherwise have been expected”.
BMA view
BMA resident doctors’ committee chairman Dr Jack Fletcher said: “Sadly, we’ve still seen no new offer from the Government, or any progress that would persuade us to call off Friday’s action.
“As it stands, what the Secretary of State has put on the table will still see thousands of resident doctors turned away from jobs this year, while continuing to back a real-terms pay cut that the Government has suggested for doctors next year.
“I made clear to the Secretary of State this morning that without movement, we would be forced to go ahead as planned.
“We want to reach a deal on both pay and jobs, that delivers for doctors and patients, but the Government seems intent on preventing this.”
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