Medway NHS Foundation Trust is prioritising urgent care for its local community as the adverse weather causes pressure on roads and transport links in the area.
The Trust is continuing to provide a full range of emergency and urgent care, including surgery, as well as planned procedures and outpatients appointments for cancer patients and other urgent cases. The Trust says it is working closely with all of its health and care partners in Medway and Swale to ensure that as broad a range of services are available for our community as possible.
Lesley Dwyer, chief executive of the Trust, said: “We’re already seeing increasing numbers of non-attendees to outpatient appointments as the weather is discouraging patients from coming in. With the difficulties in travelling, school closures and similar issues also having an impact on our staffing levels, we have taken the decision to cancel some of our non-urgent planned operations and outpatient appointments to ensure we can deploy our staff where they are needed most.”
The Trust is actively contacting patients who are affected by these short-term changes, and if they have not been contacted by the Trust should attend as planned. If any patients have any queries about their appointment, a dedicated hotline has been set up which they can call for more information: 01634 817032.
