Strikes taking place on 6, 7, 9 and 10 February

31 January 2023 - Important information for patients during nursing, physiotherapy and ambulance strikes

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is taking strike action at a number of NHS trusts across the country, including King’s, on Monday 6 and Tuesday 7 February.

The strike action will impact some services run by the Trust. This includes services at King’s College Hospital, Princess Royal University Hospital, Orpington Hospital, plus some services at Beckenham Beacon and Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup.

We have worked with the RCN to make sure we can continue to provide key emergency and urgent services on the strike days. However, to help us safely manage the impact of the strikes, we have had to postpone some routine and non-urgent appointments and procedures scheduled for the strike days.

Our teams will contact patients directly if we need to re-schedule your operation or appointment scheduled for 6 and 7 February. If you have an appointment at any of our hospitals, please assume this is going ahead unless you have been told otherwise.

The Chartered Society of Physiotherapists has also confirmed that its members at King’s will be participating in strike action on Thursday 9 February. As a result, we have postponed outpatient physiotherapy appointments on this date and patients will be contacted directly to re-schedule their appointments.

If you’re concerned and feel you need to speak to someone, please don’t hesitate to contact your clinical team directly, or our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS).

Ambulance workers will be taking strike action on Friday 10 February. Our Emergency Departments at King’s College Hospital and Princess Royal University Hospital will remain open at all times – please do attend as normal if you need urgent care. If you need medical help or advice, go to NHS 111 online or call 111 unless it is a life-threatening emergency when you should still call 999.