Impact of latest six-day junior doctors strike in the Black Country revealed
More than 2,000 routine procedures and appointments at Black Country hospitals were cancelled as a result of the latest junior doctor strike, figures show.
Junior doctors and hospital dental trainees walked out at 7am on January 3 until 7am on January 9 amid the ongoing dispute between the Government and the British Medical Association (BMA) over demands for a pay rise.
Data released by NHS England shows the impact of the latest action on the region's hospitals.
During the latest walkout, a total of 2,155 outpatient appointments or elective procedures were cancelled at four trusts running hospitals in the Black Country.
Over the six days, 867 were rescheduled at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, 602 at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, 326 at the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust and 360 at the Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust.
Ahead of the walkout local health bosses had warned of 'significant' disruption due to the action.
Across the country, the latest action saw 113,779 inpatient and outpatient appointments rescheduled, and 25,446 staff were absent from work due to strikes at the peak of the action.
Responding to the data on the impact of the strikes, NHS national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis said: “The longest strike in NHS history has led to unprecedented disruption for patients and their families, and while staff have planned extensively and worked tirelessly to keep patients safe, it comes once again with an enormous cost.
“That cost is clear in these figures - likely to be even higher in reality - with more than 113,000 appointments postponed at a time when services are already under huge pressure from rising flu and Covid cases and we are seeing a huge demand for care.
“Medical leaders and frontline staff are telling us they are very concerned about the coming weeks as the cold weather bites and more people may need hospitalisation.
"This puts an incredible strain on staff who have been covering striking colleagues as we continue to navigate one of the most difficult times of year.
“Colleagues across the NHS will now be doing everything they can to make up for lost time as we continue to make progress on addressing the elective backlog and ensure patients get the care they need.”
