NHS Cheshire and Merseyside November 2025 Blog
Friday, 14 November 2025
As the temperature drops, the local NHS faces a significant challenge as we prepare for a busy winter that will be impacted by another round of resident doctor strikes, which began at 7am today (Friday, 14 November) and will last until 7am on Wednesday, 19 November.
Please continue to attend any planned appointments unless you are contacted to reschedule. If you need urgent help but aren’t sure what to do, use NHS 111 first, and only dial 999 or go to A&E if it’s a life-threatening emergency.
Last winter, your support made a big difference. For example, by only ordering the medicines you needed, you helped to save 641,000 prescription medicines - saving the local NHS around £5m.
This winter, we’re asking for your help once again by only ordering the prescriptions you need both in the interest of patient safety and to help reduce the amount of medicines that go to waste.
Among the other simple but important actions you can take are to get your flu and Covid jabs, if eligible. The NHS has issued a ‘flu jab SOS’ as a new strain of the seasonal flu virus is leading to a higher number of cases than we would normally see this time of year.
If you’re eligible for the flu or COVID-19 vaccine, getting protected now will help you stay well and reduce pressure on our hospitals this winter.
Despite the challenges, I am confident that - by continuing to work together with our partners - we can build a more sustainable and resilient healthcare system for the future.
Working to reduce our financial deficit while providing the very best care for our patients remains our key priority.
Thank you, as always, for your continued support and for playing your part in helping to keep our communities healthy.
Best wishes,
Cathy Elliott
Chief Executive
NHS Cheshire and Merseyside