GP surgeries across Lanarkshire will be closed on Monday during the national day of mourning for the state funeral of Her Majesty The Queen.
Breast screening and some other community appointments will be cancelled – but acute hospital services including elective procedures and outpatient clinics will continue, as will the Covid and flu vaccination programmes.
NHS Lanarkshire has asked any patients who wish to reschedule planned appointments from the day of the funeral to get in touch as soon as possible.
Health board officials say they are “seeking to achieve a balanced approach to minimising disruption to patient care while acknowledging and respecting staff’s desire to participate in the national day of mourning”.
They will run ”as many acute hospital services as possible” along with community services supporting hospital flow including district nursing, home support and discharge teams.
Services which normally provide a level of weekend cover will offer an enhanced version of this; while a full vaccination service will continue at NHS Lanarkshire’s venues in Airdrie, Cumbernauld, Motherwell, East Kilbride, Hamilton and Lanark.
Chief executive Heather Knox said: “We recognise the significance of Monday’s bank holiday and have worked closely with staff to balance giving [them] the opportunity to pay their respects to Her Majesty The Queen [and] be able to continue to provide planned outpatient appointments and elective surgery.
“Many of our staff have kindly agreed to continue to provide planned outpatient clinics and elective surgery, and I would like to offer my thanks for their dedication and commitment to ensuring planned appointments can go ahead.
“We are also asking patients to let us know as soon as possible if they wish to reschedule outpatient appointments or surgery due to take place on Monday – this will allow us more flexibility to release staff on that day.”
NHS Lanarkshire’s out-of-hours service will operate throughout the exceptional holiday with GPs closed, and residents are asked to call NHS 24 on 111 for any urgent primary care needs.
Some community pharmacies will be open on Monday and details, when confirmed, will be posted on the NHS Inform website.
Breast screening and some community appointments are being rescheduled, and each service will be in touch with the affected individuals to rearrange.
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