Junior doctors strike: Cheltenham A&E closing and restricting treatment as part of industrial action

The accident and emergency department at a hospital in west England is set to close this week and on New Year's Day as part of the latest wave of strike action by junior doctors.

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust has announced that Cheltenham A&E has temporarily closed from now until 8am on Saturday 23 December and will do so again from 8pm on Monday 1 January until 8am on Tuesday 9 January.

During this period, no minor injury and illness unit (MIIU) services will be available, and there will be restrictions on treatment over the Christmas and New Year periods.

Cheltenham General Hospital's A&E unit will operate as an MIIU service only from 8am to 8pm on Saturday, December 23, through Monday, January 1, 2024, and will be closed overnight.

The unit normally has a consultant-led Emergency Department from 8am to 8pm and a nurse-led Minor Injuries and Illness Unit (MIIU) from 8pm to 8am. Emergency care services (A&E) will be centralised at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital 24/7 during this period, according to the trust.

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust said in a statement: "The latest round of strikes scheduled for December (3 days) and early January (6 days) will pose substantial challenges to hospital services at the busiest time of the year and the impact will be felt well into the New Year."

Wes Streeting MP, Labour’s Shadow Health and Social Care Secretary, responding to news of A&E departments closing due to strikes, said: “The prospect of A&E departments closing thanks to Rishi Sunak’s failure to end NHS strikes will send shivers down patients’ spines.

 “The Conservatives must now stop playing politics with our NHS, get around the table with junior doctors, and negotiate an end to these strikes.”