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NHS bosses have announced that some hospitals across the UK will cancel non-urgent appointments scheduled on Monday 19 September due to the bank holiday.
The bank holiday “which was unplanned, and introduced as a result of the Queen’s funeral“ is expected to cause some disruption across both primary and secondary care.
Patients urged to inform care providers if they are unable to attend an appointment
Dr Layla McCay, director of policy at the NHS Confederation, said: “The NHS is very familiar with providing support for its patients every day of the year, including over public holidays, and primary, urgent and emergency care services, in particular will be available to the public in a variety of ways over the bank holiday weekend.
“The bank holiday could see some hospitals having to reschedule elements of their planned and non-urgent appointments based on local circumstances. Where this happens, local NHS services will ensure this is communicated early and rebooked as soon as possible.”
There is also expected to be a rise in patients not turning up for clinics, and Dr McCay has advised patients who are now unable to attend a scheduled appointment to make this known as soon as possible.
GP practices allowed to close
GP practices will also be allowed to close on the day of the Queen’s funeral. However, NHS England has written to care providers to say that there must be enough out-of-hours care.
The letter also said practices should look at rescheduling cancelled appointments and making sure patients can pick up prescriptions in advance.
Scheduled Covid boosters care home visits should also be carried out as planned where possible, the letter states.