With the very sad passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, plans are underway for arrangements for primary care services ahead of her funeral on Monday the 19th of September 2022.
Dr Ursula Montgomery, Director of Primary Care, NHS England has released a letter for the provision of NHS England service on the day of the Queens funeral.
Despite a bank holiday on the 19th of September being confirmed by the government, she has urged that NHS England has the responsibility to ensure that patients still have access to care and healthcare services as needed. This means that some primary care workers may not have the day off to pay their respects but will be based on their contractual agreements for bank holidays that will determine their leave.
Dr Montgomery has laid out some of her expectations of services which must go ahead without any cancellations or postponement. Such services include the continuation of COVID-19 vaccinations in the care home which are a high priority for the whole vaccination programme. These vaccinations must go ahead and be delivered regardless of the bank holiday. Other COVID-19 clinics which are planned for this day are encouraged to go ahead especially in areas with high demand for the service. Vaccination providers are asked to liaise with their local commissioners to make any amendments to the services if needed.
GP surgeries will be allowed to close as this is a confirmed bank holiday however the Integrated Care Boards (ICB) will have to ensure that enough cover is in place in order to care for any urgent patient requirements. GP surgeries should manage their workload by rearranging booked appointments to an alternative date but ensure all urgent appointments and requests for prescriptions (in particular repeat prescriptions) are managed accordingly before the bank holiday closure.
Dental and community pharmacies will be responsible for work with NHS England and their local health boards to advise of the services they will be providing to their patients if this will differ from their normal opening hours. Opticians may choose to open on the bank holiday but again should notify their ICB of any differences to their contractual agreements.
Primary care workers are advised to check closure of nurseries and schools which may impact their childcare arrangements if they are working the bank holiday. The biggest priority in all of this is to communicate well with the patients even if the service levels do not change because of the bank holiday by a provider. This will eliminate any confusion or distress to patients who are looking to access any of the healthcare services. Many patients and primary care workers will find the bank holiday a difficult time and I hope that we all have some time to reflect, pay our respects and be with our loved ones as the nation is in mourning. The full NHS England letter can be found here.