Over 200,000 appointments and operations cancelled in last week’s doctors’ strike

MORE than 200,000 appointments and operations were cancelled in last week’s doctors’ strike.

It takes the total above half a million since stoppages began in the winter.

NHS bosses said the effect had been colossal and pleaded for unions and ministers to break the deadlock.

Rishi Sunak yesterday stared down nurses threatening to strike until Christmas by refusing to budge on pay.

But the PM said the row was making it harder to fix a backlog of 7.2million patients waiting for treatment.

NHS England figures show 201,077 appointments were rescheduled as junior doctors walked out from Tuesday to Saturday last week.

When combined with their first strike and industrial action by nurses and ambulance crews, the total is more than 531,000.

NHS medical director for England Sir Stephen Powis said: “These figures lay bare the colossal impact of industrial action.

“Each of the appointments postponed has an impact on the lives of individuals.

“Our staff now have an immense amount of work to catch up on appointments.”