Thousands of hospital appointments are being cancelled up and down the country because of the Queen’s upcoming funeral, it is being reported.
The funeral, which is due to take place on 19 September, has been declared a national Bank Holiday. As a result, a number of NHS trusts have said that appointments will be postponed according to independent global media platform openDemocracy.
Whilst Covid-19 vaccinations and emergency appointments will reportedly continue, some trusts have said that they will be cancelling treatments including hip and knee replacements, cataract surgery, maternity checks and some cancer treatments.
Surgeries in Manchester have begun sending out messages to registered patients this afternoon, The Manc can reveal.
The City Health Centre, housed on Market Street above Boots, told its patients: “The practise will be closed on Monday, 19 September, on the occasion of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral.
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“Please order your repeat prescriptions as soon as possible before the bank holiday weekend.”
it continued: “If you require medical advice or attention that cannot wait until the practise is open, please call 111 or visit www.111.nhs.uk. For medical emergencies please dial 999.”
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Doctors at one central London hospital trust were reportedly told: “The day of the State Funeral will be treated as a bank holiday so please go ahead and start rescheduling patients.”
The news follows years of growing backlog, with data from the British Medical Association (BMA) in July 2022 showing the NHS had hit an all-time record high of people waiting for treatment with over 6.84 million people on its list.
The figures also show that 377,689 patients have been waiting over one year for treatment – over 365 times the 1,032 people waiting over a year pre-pandemic in July 2019 – and that 2.67 million patients had been waiting over 18 weeks for treatment.
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According to openDemocracy, a number of patients who had already been waiting for appointments have seen them cancelled again due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Following the announcement of the Queen’s death on 8 September, a text from NHS providers informed a pregnant woman that as a result of “unforeseen circumstances” her appointment had been cancelled and that another date “will be rescheduled shortly”.
Meanwhile, Bedfordshire Hospitals Foundation Trust told patients on Monday: “Following the announcement of the plans for the late Her Majesty The Queen’s state funeral on Monday 19 September 2022, some non-urgent planned care appointments/procedures across Bedfordshire Hospitals will be postponed. We will contact all relevant patients if their appointment or procedure is to be re-scheduled.”
Elsewhere in Liverpool, the Women’s Hospital has already warned patients to expect changes on the day of the late Monarch’s funeral.
Feature image – SnapStock / Royal Free NHS
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NHS says it’s battling with ‘worst case scenario’ as flu cases surge nationwide
Emily Sergeant
Flu hospitalisations have surged by more than half in just one week, plunging the NHS into the ‘worst case scenario’.
Shocking new figures have revealed that an nn average of 2,660 patients per day were in a hospital bed with flu last week, which is the highest-ever for this time of year and up 55% up on last week – which, when put into perspective, means there are enough flu patients each day to fill more than three whole hospital trusts.
NHS bosses have warned that the total has already increased sharply since the week covered by the data, and at this time, there is thought to be no ‘peak’ in sight.
These new figures come as demand for A&Es and ambulance services are already soaring.
The number of patients in hospital with flu has risen by over 50% in the last week, reaching a record number for this time of year – and numbers continue to grow.
New monthly figures showed that A&E attendances were a record for November at 2.35 million and more than 30,000 higher than November 2024, while there were 48,814 more ambulance incidents compared to last year.
The record-breaking demand also comes just ahead of thousands of resident doctors going on strike this week from 17-22 December – with ‘major disruption’ expected for patients ahead of Christmas.
The public are advised to attend any planned appointments scheduled during the strikes, unless they have been contacted to reschedule.
Primary and urgent and emergency care services will continue to be available for those who need them, during the industrial action.
NHS says it’s battling with the ‘worst case scenario’ as flu cases surge nationwide / Credit: Pxhere
The public should use 111 online as their first port of call for urgent but not life-threatening issues so that they can be directed to the best place for their needs, while patients who need emergency medical care should continue to use 999 or come forward to A&E as normal.
“With record demand for A&E and ambulances and an impending resident doctors strike, this unprecedented wave of super flu is leaving the NHS facing a worst-case scenario for this time of year – with staff being pushed to the limit to keep providing the best possible care for patients,” commented Professor Meghana Pandit, who is the NHS National Medical Director.
“Even worse, it continues to rise and the peak is not in sight yet, so the NHS faces an extremely challenging few weeks ahead.
“We have prepared earlier for winter than ever before, and stress-tested services to ensure people have a range of ways to get the help they need and avoid needing to go to A&E.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting described the flu surge as a ‘tidal wave’.
“We are working with the NHS to make sure it is able to cope with this as best as possible,” he concluded.
Featured Image – Stephen Andrews (via Unsplash)
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Erling Haaland dresses up as Santa and hands out Christmas presents in Greater Manchester
Danny Jones
Manchester City star Erling Haaland has doubled as Father Christmas in his latest YouTube stunt, dressing up as Santa and handing out presents to local kids in the new episode.
We’re starting to think he might be one of the most likeable footballers on the planet right now.
The Norwegian footballer recently surpassed Alan Shearer’s ‘fastest to 100 goals record’ in the Premier League and has been well and truly back to his best as Man City continue to rediscover their form, but the big blonde number nine has been delighting both on and off the pitch of late.
For starters, even before any of the season’s givings began, we got the giggle just from our first glimpse of the thumbnail.
Yes, Haaland definitely has a habit of leaning into the humorous side of his celebrity status, having already dressed up as the Joker for Halloween in one of the first episodes published on his still relatively new YouTube channel.
However, the 25-year-old got up to some more heartwarming activities this time around, swapping the face paint, green wig and stripey suit for a red coat, hat, some little glasses and a big white beard.
With the video itself showing him getting into character and loading his car with a sack full of presents, he then goes on to visit multiple houses to dish out the surprise gifts.
While the title and description state that he drove around the streets of 0161, it’s hard to tell where exactly he went, but we’d guess it was more around Alderley Edge and/or the Cheshire side of the Greater Manchester borders.
One particular interaction between the disguised Blue and a young Red certainly produced a harmless little bit of comedy…
Either way, on the whole, this particular instalment was more wholesome than it was funny, and it’s always nice to see sports personalities and famous people spreading kindness.
Obviously, not everyone can afford to be as generous as a Premier League and world-famous international athlete, but it’s nevertheless a nice touch.
Georgina Pellant -
13th September 2022 
