People with hospital or medical appointments on Monday's Bank Holiday should be notified if their appointment has been cancelled.

It comes after most medical centres announced they would shut down and hospitals cancelled appointments for Monday, September 19, as Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral takes place.

The day of mourning has been made a Bank Holiday in the UK to allow the public to observe the ceremony.

Many hospital appointments have been cancelled, with some NHS trusts saying that ‘non-urgent’ procedures and clinic appointments should be postponed.

Lancashire and South Cumbria said practices would be following the NHS England guidance and, as per that guidance, "patients with appointments booked will be contacted to let them know what’s happening with their appointment".

NHS England guidance says “patients with planned appointments that may be affected by the day of the funeral, must be informed in advance of any changes by utilising direct patient communications".

The Bank Holiday is likely to affect hip and knee replacements, cataract surgery, maternity checks and even some cancer treatments.

The decision to cancel hospital appointments comes as waiting lists hit an all-time high, with almost 6.8 million people waiting for appointments at the end of July.

More than 377,000 of these patients had been waiting for more than a year.

NHS data shows nearly 40 per cent of cancer patients had their treatment delayed beyond the two-month maximum.

One of the medical centres which will close on Monday is Pendle Medical Centre in Barnoldswick which posted on its social media accounts: “As a mark of respect our Practice will be closed next Monday, September 19.

"If you need medical assistance on Monday please contact 111, or in case of emergency please dial 999.

“We will be contacting patients who have booked appointments as soon as possible to rearrange them.”

It was a similar case at other medical centres across the region including the Witton Medical Practice, Preston Old Road and the Olive Medical Practice who confirmed they would be joining other GP centres to close on Monday.