Over 1,000 rescheduled appointments in York after doctor strike action

The NHS England figures show 1,202 appointments at York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust were rescheduled because of the strikes – of them, 218 were inpatient procedures, while 984 were outpatient.

Reacting to the figures, a spokesperson for the York trust said: "Unfortunately, we have postponed a number of operations and appointments over the period of strike action, which we will be re-arranging as a priority.

"We appreciate this situation is frustrating for patients affected and apologise for any inconvenience caused.

"Anyone with an appointment should continue to attend as planned unless they have been contacted to rearrange.”

Across England, nearly 200,000 hospital appointments and procedures had to be rescheduled due to a 96-hour strike from April 11 to 15 in a dispute over pay.

READ MORE:

• York Hospital patients face cancelled ops as junior doctors strike
• REACTION: York divided over junior doctors' strike
• Junior doctors make up nearly half of medics at York trust

Nationally, there were 20,470 inpatient and 175,755 outpatient appointments, making a total of 196,225.

NHS national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis said the figures "lay bare the colossal impact of industrial action on planned care in the NHS".

Junior doctors went on strike across the UK (Image: PA)

He said: "While our staff are doing all they possibly can to manage the disruption, it is becoming increasingly difficult and the impact on patients and staff will unfortunately continue to worsen."

The British Medical Association has demanded a 35 per cent pay rise, which Health Secretary Steve Barclay labelled "unrealistic".

Mr Barclay said: "It’s deeply disappointing that hundreds of thousands of appointments and procedures had to be cancelled last week as a result of some junior doctors taking strike action. This walkout clearly had an impact on many patients as well as hampering our efforts to cut NHS waiting lists.

"Thank you to all the staff who have worked tirelessly to cover for striking junior doctors during this period."

Meanwhile, Dr Vivek Trivedi and Dr Robert Laurenson, of the British Medical Association’s junior doctors committee said: "Junior doctors know all too well the frustration of patients waiting too long for care - and with a waiting list of 7.2 million in England, we are facing difficult conversations with them every single day.

"These millions of patients are not in this position because of strikes though. Persistent under-resourcing of the health service and under-valuing staff – exacerbated by a pandemic – mean we simply don’t have the workforce and capacity to provide the high-quality and timely care that patients need and deserve.

"This is why we have been led to strike - and while we are of course sorry to anyone who had their care disrupted, this is the same apology we’re already having to give to patients on a daily basis because the NHS cannot cope."