Practices who choose to close for Monday’s Bank Holiday will have to reschedule booked patients within two weeks, according to official advice.

The holiday, for Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, has caused concern among some doctors because of the problems of cancelling clinics at short notice. The Bank Holiday means that schools are closed, causing problems for staff who rely on schools for childcare.

The BBC reports a letter from the NHS England director of primary care Dr Ursula Montgomery. It says that practices can, by contract, close their core services on Monday because of the Bank Holiday. It warns that if practices stay open there may be patients who do not turn up for booked appointments because of wanting to watch the funeral.

Dr Montgomery also calls for integrated care services and primary care networks to “urgently work to ensure sufficient out-of-hours services capacity is in place”. The letter says that practices that choose to close must offer appointments within two weeks to patients who have appointments cancelled. It must also make sure that arrangements are made for prescriptions.

Dr Montgomery also requests that booked care home visits planned to deliver the COVID booster vaccine continue to take place. General Government guidance for the bank holiday says that employers are not required to give staff the day off unless they have contracts which specifically allow them to take all bank holidays off.