Industrial action on 6 and 7 June
2 June 2023
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has announced plans for industrial action in most parts of Wales (including Hywel Dda University Health Board) on 6 and 7 June 2023. We are working with the RCN leading up to the dates of strike action to ensure we can maintain patient safety with minimal disruption to critical services.
Whilst all emergency services will be operating as normal, we may need to adjust some elements of our planned care services and prioritise patients with urgent care needs wherever possible. We will contact you if your planned appointment is impacted by the strike action.
Our chemotherapy units will be operating as normal on strike days and some surgery for urgent cases will take place at our hospitals.
Where appointments need to be rescheduled, patients are being contacted by the relevant team to rearrange their appointment as quickly as possible. In some cases, this may mean bringing appointments forward. Some face-to-face outpatient appointments will still go ahead, and some may be held as an online/virtual appointment.
If you have an appointment on 6 or 7 June, and have not been contacted, please assume that your appointment will go ahead. We are contacting all patients by telephone or text message, please check your telephone for any messages.
Most GP surgeries, community pharmacies and dental services will continue to operate as normal on 6 and 7 June. Our 24/7 mental health support, via NHS 111 option 2, will continue to be available to individuals requiring our support.
Some community-based services will be impacted by the industrial action. However, urgent services, including priority district nursing and the acute response team will continue to operate. If there is a change to your community-based appointment on 6 or 7 June, the team will contact you to rearrange your appointment.
All urgent and emergency care services will continue as normal. If you are unwell and unsure what to do, you can visit the online symptom checker (opens in new tab) or call NHS 111. The minor injury units (MIUs) at acute hospital sites will be open as usual. Opening hours for community walk-in services can be found on the health board’s website (opens in new tab). Please attend an emergency department, or call 999, if you have a life-threatening illness or serious injury, such as:
- Severe breathing difficulties
- Severe pain or bleeding
- Chest pain or a suspected stroke
- Serious trauma injuries (e.g., from a car crash).
If you are unsure, please contact the health board’s communication hub on 0300 303 8322 (option 5 – other services) or email ask.hdd@wales.nhs.uk for further information and guidance. Staff at the communication hub are available to answer calls between 8am-5pm Monday to Friday and 9am-4pm on the weekend.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your support and patience.