Services at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) are preparing for Resident doctors to take part in a fresh round of strike action. Resident Doctors, who are part of the British Medical Association (BMA) will take part in industrial action against the Government, beginning at 7am on Friday 14th November until 7am on Wednesday 19th November.
WWL has prepared its services to minimise any potential disruption during the strike and protecting life, limb and sight-saving services will remain paramount, which includes protecting emergency treatment, intensive care, new-born care, maternity, trauma – and some limited planned care.
If you have an appointment at one of WWL’s hospitals, please attend unless you hear from the Trust. Please do not call to check if your appointment is going ahead as the appropriate department will be in touch with you directly if your appointment needs to be rearranged.
Speaking ahead of the upcoming industrial action, WWL Chief Medical Officer, Professor Sanjay Arya OBE, said: “The safety of our patients, as always, remains our top priority and we would like to reassure the public that we have worked hard to put plans in place to ensure minimal impact on the quality and timeliness of the care you, your relative, or someone you care for receives over these days. As we approach the busiest time of the year, we’re asking the public to continue to choose the correct NHS service for their needs and to make careful choices when seeking urgent medical advice to ensure those with the most urgent and serious needs can be seen. To further help us to continue to provide safe and effective care, we urge families and friends of patients who are ready to be discharged from our hospitals to support their loved ones to recover at home. Our discharge teams are working incredibly hard to make sure this transition is safe, and recovery at home is always the best option.
“I must also ask everyone to use our services appropriately, whilst our staff continue to work hard within our hospitals and with partners from across health and social care within the Wigan Borough to meet this demand.
“Patients should still attend appointments during this time, unless they are contacted to have their appointment rearranged, and please do not put off seeking urgent or emergency care for life, limb and sight-threatening conditions.”
Where else to get help from? Get to know where to go:
NHS 111:
WWL is urging members of the public to use NHS 111 Online for all non-emergency healthcare needs, in the first instance, unless the issue concerns a child under five-years-old, when they should call 111. Deaf people or people with hearing loss can dial 18001 111 on a textphone or use the Relay UK app (which can be downloaded from Apple’s App Store or Google Play Store).
NHS 111 Online can help if:
• You need help but don’t know who to call
• How to find general health information and advice
• You are ill and need to be told what to do next
• How to get an emergency supply of your prescribed medicine
Pharmacy:
Lots of illnesses can also be managed safely at home, or with a trip to a local pharmacist. There are pharmacies open late into the night and very early in the morning. Find your nearest one here: Find a pharmacy - NHS (www.nhs.uk).
Urgent dental care:
The Greater Manchester Urgent Dental Care Service is available from 8am to 10pm every day including weekends for severe dental pain and infection. People can call 0333 332 3800 to be assessed by a healthcare professional, who can provide self-care advice or book a face-to-face appointment, if needed.
Urgent eye care:
If you have a sudden and urgent problem with your eyes, you can contact a local practice to get an appointment: NHS Greater Manchester Community Urgent Eye Care Service (CUES) - Primary Eyecare Services.
Mental health:
For free urgent mental health support, people can contact the 24/7 helpline on 0800 953 0285 – it is available to anyone of any age. If there’s an immediate risk of danger to life, you should ring 999.
While You Wait
The While You Wait website also has lots of helpful information on staying well whilst you wait for treatment.
More information about when to call 999 and when to go to A&E is available via the national NHS website.
- Frequently Asked Questions
What is happening?
Resident doctors who are members of the BMA have voted to take strike action. We and other NHS employers have been formally notified of a period of strike action beginning at 7am on Friday 14 November until 7am on Wednesday 19 November.What do strikes mean for NHS services in my area?
The strikes announced cover resident doctors across the NHS. This means action will impact every hospital in England. We are working hard to minimise the impact this action has on patients, but this will inevitably cause disruption during the strike period and is likely to have a longer term impact on our services due to the additional resources required to keep services going safely. Thanks to the actions of NHS staff during the period of industrial action in July 2025, and specifically the willingness of many colleagues – including many resident doctors – to work extra shifts, we were able to maintain more activity than during the last period of action in June 2024.What does this mean for care?
We all know that industrial action comes at a very real cost to patients and the rest of the workforce and this round of action comes as the NHS is managing the busy winter period. During these strikes, all other NHS staff (including consultants, GPs and other specialist doctors) will still be working. The NHS is working hard to minimise the impact on patients and make sure there are safe levels of staffing in key services patients need. However, we know from previous strikes that there will be t disruption, and we will make sure patients and the local community know how this might affect them.What if I need urgent or emergency care?
Anyone who needs urgent care should use NHS111 online or through the NHS App to be assessed and directed to the right care for them. If you do not have internet access, then the free, 24/7 111 phone line is also available. When someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk, you should seek emergency care in the normal way, by calling 999.What does this mean for pre-planned appointments, tests and procedures?
We are working hard to minimise the impact on planned care. Patients with appointments booked on strike days will be contacted if their appointment needs to be rescheduled due to industrial action. If they have not been contacted, they should attend their appointment as planned.Can the NHS provide safe services during strikes?
The NHS is working hard to minimise the risk to patient safety and has in place a clinically led process and where any safety issues identified can be raised with the BMA quickly. It’s important that patients do not put off seeking urgent care or not attend planned appointments unless they have been told otherwise.When will I find out if my appointment is rescheduled?
The NHS will contact you if your appointment needs to be rescheduled due to strike action. This is likely to be a text, phone call or a letter and you should be offered an alternative date for your appointment. We will be doing everything possible to minimise the number of patients who have planned care disrupted, so it may be the case that you do not receive very much notice of a postponement. We apologise for this unavoidable inconvenience. If we have not contacted you, please attend your appointment as planned.If my appointment is rescheduled, will I be put back to the bottom of the waiting list?
Any appointments that need to be rescheduled will be done so as a priority.Should I cancel my appointment on the day of strikes?
No, if we have not contacted you, please attend your appointment as planned.Is there anything I should do now?
Please order any prescriptions you might need in good time to avoid delays in getting your medicines or the risk of running out of medicines during strikes.I have a loved one who will be a hospital inpatient on strike day – how will their care be affected?
All hospital inpatients will be informed of how their care will be impacted on a ward-by-ward basis by the staff involved in delivering their care.What is considered an emergency?
Patients should only call 999 if seriously ill or injured, and there is risk to life. Ambulances will be dispatched where clinically appropriate. For more information on when to call 999 and when to go to A&E, you can visit the NHS UK website.Will GP services be affected on strike days?
GP practices will continue to be open during the resident doctors strikes. Resident doctors who train in GP practices, known as GP registrars, may take strike action. While they are an important part of the practice team, the effective running of the practice is not dependent on them as they are considered supernumerary to the workforce of the practice. Please continue to attend your GP and dental appointments, unless you are contacted and told otherwise.Will dentists be impacted?
Please continue to attend any dental appointments unless you are contacted and told otherwise.