Members of staff who work in our Pathology department are taking industrial action on Wednesday 13 and Thursday 14 September. They belong to the Unite union and they are going on strike because of their concerns about staffing levels. Their action will affect samples that we test in our labs, including blood samples.

During the two-day strike, a large number of routine blood tests from appointments in the community run by our partner NELFT and GPs, will not be processed. This is to allow our teams to process urgent requests. You will be contacted directly if you are affected and will be able to rebook after the strike.

All urgent and emergency test samples will be dealt with.

Our teams are working hard to provide additional capacity after the strike to minimise delays.