Norfolk hospital boss warns of potentially long waits over the bank holiday
They're asking people to contact 111 if it's not an urgent problem
Hospitals bosses across Norfolk are urging people to be sensible and considerate, if they need medical help over the bank holiday weekend.
A reduced bank holiday service is now in place, and it comes just after consultants and senior doctors across the county staged a 48 hour walkout over pay and conditions.
Hospitals are likely to be under even more strain as most GP practices and pharmacies will also be shut until Tuesday - due to the bank holiday.
Felicity Meyer is the deputy medical director at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in King's Lynn: "All our emergency services will be in place over the bank holiday weekend, but we've actually got some extra staff in the emergency unit to ensure any backlog is cleared.
"Obviously there's always quite a lot of pressure on the emergency team over the bank holiday weekend, and it can be quite busy, so just be aware, you might have quite a long wait...
"Please be aware that everyone is working as hard as they can."
She doesn't want people to be put off coming to the hospital if they need to: "If you do have an urgent problem, do attend. We don't want you sitting at home because you think it will be too busy.
"That being said, if it's not an urgent problem, please try other routes like 111 or leave it until after the bank holiday."
Felicity tells us a normal service will resume on Tuesday: "Everything should be running as normal unless we contact you to tell you otherwise.
"We are really sorry about cancelled appointments, we know how concerning they can be for people.
"We will try and rearrange everything as soon as we possibly can."