More than 67,000 hospital appointments and procedures in England were cancelled due to the recent strike by consultants, figures show.
Some 65,557 inpatient and outpatient appointments had to be rescheduled as a result of the industrial action that took place from July 20 to 22.
A further 1,474 mental health and learning disability appointments were rescheduled, along with 731 appointments at community hospitals, meaning a total of 67,762 appointments did not take place.
The figures are likely to underestimate the true scale of disruption as not all NHS trusts were able to supply data for publication by NHS England.
The strike was staged by members of the British Medical Association (BMA) over levels of pay, and was the first walkout by consultants in almost 50 years.
The number of inpatient and outpatient hospital appointments cancelled since the current spell of industrial action began in December is 764,370.
Together with cancellations in mental health, learning disability and community settings, the overall cumulative total is just under 820,000.
A second strike in England by consultants is due to take place on August 24 and 25.
Meanwhile, radiographers at 37 NHS trusts in England will begin a 48-hour strike at 8am on Tuesday in a separate dispute over pay.
Junior health minister Will Quince said it was “disappointing that thousands of appointments and procedures had to be postponed over the last week as a result of consultants strike action, hindering efforts to cut NHS waiting lists and impacting on patient care”.
“As recommended by the independent pay review body, we are giving consultants a 6% pay rise this year, on top of last year’s 4.5% increase – meaning their average NHS earnings will increase to £134,000 a year. We have also reformed pension tax rules in response to calls from the BMA, meaning consultants can increase their tax-free pension savings to £60,000 a year.
“We are willing to discuss non-pay issues, but this pay award is final so I urge the BMA to end this needless disruption and call off its strikes in August.”
Miriam Deakin, director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers, urged both sides to “sit down and talk” as she warned that the health service “can’t go on like this”.
“More than 820,000 routine treatments and appointments have had to be put back due to industrial action right across hospital, ambulance, mental health and community services since December.
“That massive number will jump when consultants strike again next month and a two-day strike by radiographers at some trusts this week will add to the disruption for the NHS and patients.
“Every strike has a knock-on effect with tens of thousands more appointments having to be rescheduled too.
“Trust leaders understand the strength of feeling among striking staff. Eight straight months of industrial action will have a long-lasting effect on already low morale and hinder efforts to cut waiting lists – a Government priority.
“Keeping patients safe is the number one priority for trusts and they will keep pulling out all the stops to minimise disruption. But every strike is making the job harder and more expensive to provide cover.”
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