People have been urged to only use hospitals for life-threatening emergencies as junior doctors hold four days of industrial action. 

The strikes began at 7am on Tuesday, April 11, and will continue until the day shift starts on Saturday, April 15. 

Hospitals across Bradford district - including Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI) and Airedale Hospital - have warned anyone attending A&E departments are likely to face longer waits than usual.

Senior doctors and other medics who are not on strike have been diverted to cover services such as A&E and maternity care.

Patients impacted by the cancellations will be contacted directly and all other patients should attend their appointment as normal.

What junior doctor strikes mean for you

Airedale NHS Foundation Trust and Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust issued a joint statement on the industrial action. 

Leanne Cooper, Chief Operating Officer at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust and Saj Azeb, Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Executive at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Like other hospitals throughout the country we are experiencing 96 hours of industrial action by junior doctors. 

• Read more: Junior doctors share 'restore NHS' message from picket lines in Bradford

“Patient safety is our priority and our clinical and operational teams have developed plans for each of our services to ensure safe care can be maintained. We’d like to thank all our teams for their hard work and support in this. 

“All urgent and emergency care treatments are still going ahead. However, as a result of our focus on safe patient care we have had to rearrange some operations and outpatient appointments.

"We know this is frustrating and we will do our best to reschedule them as soon as possible. Patients impacted by the cancellations will be contacted directly all other patients should attend their appointment as normal. 

“Members of the public should continue to seek medical care in the usual way, but we would urge people to only attend A&E departments in Bradford and Airedale with life or limb-threatening emergencies.”

My problem is not an emergency - what do I do?

For advice about or treatment of a non-urgent condition people should visit www.nhs.uk, or go to their local GP or pharmacist. 

Anyone who needs medical help fast but is not in an emergency should go to www.111.nhs.uk or call 111.

Mental health support

Details of local wellbeing services across Bradford district and Craven can be found on the Healthy Minds website here. 

For urgent health advice that is not a life-threatening emergency, contact NHS 111, which is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. People can check symptoms using NHS 111 online – 111.nhs.uk – or by calling the service free of charge on 111.

For urgent mental health support in Bradford District and Craven, call First Response on 0800 952 1181, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.