Patients ‘left waiting’ after train strikes delay hospital staff getting to …

Train strikes 'affecting patients' after Royal Berks staff had to change appointments (Image: Newsquest)

ELDERLY patients have to wait for new appointments after rail strikes affect hospital staff getting to work.

Train services across Berkshire are being hit by more rail strikes today with an "extremely limited" timetable.

Rail passengers are suffering more travel disruption because of new train strikes in long-running disputes over pay, jobs and conditions.

Sylvia Lewandowska, 46, an NHS orbital prosthetist at Royal Berkshire Hospital, said her journey to commute from London Paddington was delayed by an hour, forcing her to reschedule four appointments.

She said: “I have to wait an hour for my train so all my patients will have to wait.

“Whatever the reason is for strikes, they shouldn’t affect working people who can’t change their situation.

“It’s affecting my patients because they are from different parts of the UK and many are elderly.