Industrial action continues till Tuesday: What you need to know

January 4, 2024

As you will be aware, the second period of industrial action following the strike just before Christmas by our non-consultant doctors started earlier this week and will go on till Tuesday 9 January, 7am.

Could your patient be admitted to our virtual ward?

If your patient has past the acute stage of their illness, but still needs a level of intervention to support their recovery, they might be able to be discharged into the care of our virtual ward – these are consultant led and allow patients to continue their recovery in the comfort of their own home, but with constant monitoring and medical input. If you are unsure about what a virtual ward is, please watch the short video below:

You can contact the virtual ward on ext. 2664, (option 1, option 4) to discuss your patient with them. Our virtual wards cover the following specialities:

• Frailty
• Respiratory
• Cardiology
• Occupational therapy
• Paediatric (ext. 2602)

The service consists of MDT staffing support, including therapies, the integrated discharge hub and the wider community to support patients at home.  The virtual ward is available to all specialties where the patient meets the criteria and the team is able to support. If you are uncertain but believe your patient would benefit from the virtual ward, please contact the team.

Extended opening hours of Costa outlets at City and Sandwell: We will be offering hot and cold food as well drinks during the extended opening hours at our Costa outlets. See times below: