Patients being contacted ahead of tomorrow's strike at Kilkenny hospital

Patients at St Luke's Hospital are being contacted and contingency plans are swinging into place ahead of a planned strike at the local hospital tomorrow (Wednesday).

The Ireland East Hospital Group (IEHG) has said it is working closely with all hospitals and following HSE National guidance.  The IEHG says it regrets that industrial action planned by SIPTU "will affect patient and client services" at a number of hospitals involved.

"The strike will involve a significant number of staff who make an essential contribution to the effective running of our health services every day," said a statement from the IEHG.

"This afternoon, the HSE is continuing to engage on contingency planning with SIPTU at local hospital and healthcare facility level. This is to ensure minimum disruption to patient services, in so far as possible, and to ensure patient dignity and that essential daily care remains in place."

Initial feedback from hospitals today shows the services mostly impacted will include:

•             Deferral of some elective inpatient procedures

•             Significant cancellation of scope procedures

•             Reduced outpatient services 

•             Reduced laboratory services for GPs

•             Reduced catering services for both patients and staff

•             Reduced operating theatre activity.

The services impacted will vary across the hospital sites.

"Patients are being contacted by their local hospital or healthcare facility in the event that their scheduled procedure or service will be affected by the dispute," said the IEHG.

"We are asking people to think about all their care and treatment options, the length of time you may be waiting in ED should you not require urgent care and we would ask that people keep our ED services for the patients who need them most.  For example, many patients with limb injuries can go to an injury unit and others with a less serious illness can be treated by their GP or referred by their GP to an Assessment Unit the following day.

"However, if you are seriously injured or ill  the ED will assess and treat you as a priority. This is a challenging time for our hospital but thanks to the huge efforts of our frontline staff patients are continuing to receive safe care during this period.

"While every effort will be made to minimise impact on patients, industrial action involving these essential staff will have a significant impact on services. We will keep the public informed of any developments that may affect patient services through the national and local media, our social media channels and our website www.iehg.ie or @IEHospitalGroup."