More than 1,000 appointments rescheduled due to junior doctor strike at West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals Trust
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A total of 1,067 appointments at West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals Trust were rescheduled as a result of the junior doctor strike last week.
Of those, 231 were inpatient procedures, while 836 were outpatient appointments, NHS England figures show.
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Hide AdAcross 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.
The British Medical Association has demanded a 35% pay rise, which Health Secretary Steve Barclay labelled "unrealistic".
Dr Vivek Trivedi and Dr Robert Laurenson, of the British Medical Association’s junior doctors committee said: "Junior doctors know 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.
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Hide Ad"This is why we have been led to strike, and while we are sorry to anyone who had their care disrupted, this is the same apology we’re already giving patients on a daily basis because the NHS cannot cope," they added.
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.
"We remain ready to start formal talks with the BMA as soon as the union pauses its strikes and moves significantly from its unrealistic position of demanding a 35% pay increase – which would result in some junior doctors receiving a pay rise of £20,000.
"Thank you to all the staff who have worked tirelessly to cover for striking junior doctors during this period."
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Hide AdNHS national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis 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."