Warning as major A&E changes announced amid strikes

Warning as major A&E changes announced amid strikesJust nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleJoe SkirkowskiGloucestershireBBCCheltenham's A&E will change to a Minor Injury and Illness Unit during the strikesA hospital's A&E will switch to a daytime-only Minor Injury and Illness Unit (MIIU) while doctors strike.Cheltenham General Hospital's A&E will close on Sunday at 20:00 BST and then reopen on Monday as a MIIU. Normal overnight services will resume on Friday, when the department reverts back to an A&E.The four-day strike action is the latest in a long-running dispute over pay between resident doctors and the government.Dr Ananthakrishnan Raghuram, chief clinical leadership and delivery officer at NHS Gloucestershire, said: "The strike is likely to pose significant challenges to the local NHS, particularly hospital services."More from Gloucestershire'Police only took me seriously after my TikTok post'New city market expected to open within a year'Most unusual book' wins Walter Scott historical fiction prize"We are sorry that patients might experience some disruption," he added.NHS Gloucestershire has advised patients with planned operations, clinics or procedures to attend hospital as usual unless told otherwise.Patient visiting arrangements are not expected to be disrupted during the strikes.Gloucestershire Royal Hospital's A&E will operate normal hours during the strike, and the public has been urged to only attend if their condition is life-threatening or serious.Pay disputeResident doctors have received a collective 33% pay rise over the last four years, but their union argues they are being paid a fifth less than they were in 2008 when inflation is taken into account.The government insists that their current pay is fair, and Health Secretary James Murray has described the union's demands as "unrealistic, unaffordable and unsustainable".Follow BBC Gloucestershire...