'Significant disruption' expected to Derry hospital and community services ahead of Thursday's 24-hour strike action

'Significant disruption' is expected to to hospital and community services on Thursday as health workers take to the picket lines in a row over pay and conditions.

Industrial Action will take place on Thursday 26 January for 24 hours (00:01hrs until 23:59hrs) for Unison, NIPSA and Unite Trade Union members.

A Western Trust spokesperson said: "The Trust anticipates significant disruption to hospital and community services during this time.

"The Western Trust is currently in the process of making direct contact with the patients and service users who will be impacted by the industrial action.

"If you have not been contacted, please assume your appointment/service delivery will proceed as normal on Thursday.

"The Trust continues to work with Trades Union colleagues to protect our critical services and to try and minimise the impact of industrial action on our patients and service users."

Impact is as follows:

• Homecare services. We are aware that a significant number of service users in receipt of Homecare may not receive their scheduled calls, between the hours of 00:01hrs until 23:59hrs, if it is delivered by the Western Trust. We are asking for the help of family members and carers to assist us during these times by checking in with their relatives / neighbours that receive Homecare services. Should an issue arise please call the local Homecare office on the following numbers: Northern Sector (Derry, Limavady, Dungiven) – (028) 7186 4385; Fermanagh (028) 6634 2414 or Strabane Castlederg and Omagh (028) 8283 5911. Homecare services delivered by our contracted providers are not expected to be affected.
• The following Older People’s Day Centres will be closed all day: Creggan Day Centre and Foyleville Day Centre.
• The following Learning Disability Day Centres will be closed all day: Oaktree Day Centre, Valley Centre, Evergreen Centre, Rossville Centre, Kesh Centre Fresh Focus, Lackaghboy 2, EPC, Lisnaskea and the Share Centre.
• The following Adult Mental Health Day Centres will be closed all day: Arden Day Centre and Creggan Day Centre.
  Drumcoo Psychical and Sensory Day Centre will remain closed all day.
• The following Family Centres will be closed on all day: Shanthallow Family Centre, Riverside Family Centre, Erne Family Centre and Creggan Family Centre.
• Significant impact to Family and Childcare services is anticipated. This service will be operating a bank holiday arrangement. Only emergency childcare requests will be responded to. In emergency situations please contact, The Gateway Team, telephone: 028 7131 4070.
• A signifiant number of Outpatient appointments have been postponed and a number of planned procedures have also been postponed across our three hospital sites. The Trust is currently in the process of re-booking the appointments and procedures.
• There will be limited hospital catering facilities. Patient meals will be prioritised.
• There will be limited response to community aids/appliance faults in client homes. All faults should still be logged in the normal way and these will be triaged in terms of risk/patient impact.
• Laboratory and Hospital Pharmacy services will also be limited. The Trust’s labs will be operating a bank holiday service arrangement with capacity only for urgent samples. Patients who collect medications directly from the Trust’s Pharmacy Department’s at both Altnagelvin Hospital and the South West Acute Hospital may experience a delay.