London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 08, 2025

Junior doctor strike led to 196,000 cancellations

Junior doctor strike led to 196,000 cancellations

More than 196,000 hospital appointments had to be cancelled because of the junior doctor strike in England last week, figures show.

It includes people who were waiting for operations and other treatments as well as scans and follow-up appointments.

The number of cancellations is the greatest so far in the NHS pay dispute.

And the true scale of the disruption is likely to be higher as many hospitals had cut back ahead of the strike to minimise last-minute postponements.

Some hospitals reported they were not carrying out up to half of their planned work so consultants could be redeployed to emergency care to cover for striking junior doctors.

The total included more than 20,000 operations and treatments. The rest were appointments, tests and check-ups.

It brings the total number of appointments affected by all the strikes over the past five months to more than 500,000 - nurses, ambulance staff and physios have been involved in industrial action as well as junior doctors.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay called the number of cancelled appointments and procedures "deeply disappointing", and blamed it for hampering efforts to cut NHS waiting lists.

He said: "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."

The British Medical Association said they were happy to meet the health secretary "any time, anywhere" and it was in his gift to stop the dispute.

Dr Vivek Trivedi and Dr Robert Laurenson, of the British Medical Association's junior doctors committee said: "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."

NHS national medical director Prof Sir Stephen Powis said: "Today's figures lay bare the colossal impact of industrial action on planned care in the NHS.

"Each of the appointments postponed has an impact on the lives of individuals and their families and creates further pressure on services and on a tired workforce - and this is likely to be an underestimate of the impact as some areas provisionally avoided scheduling appointments for these strike days.

"Our staff now have an immense amount of work to catch up on."


'Severe impact'


It comes amid mounting concern about more industrial action across the NHS, with one hospital boss saying the planned walkout by nurses over the first May bank holiday weekend threatens the ability to staff emergency services.

On Friday the Royal College of Nursing announced a strike from 20:00 BST on 30 April to 20:00 on 2 May after its members rejected the pay offer from government.

It also said it would ballot members about taking more strike action over the course of the year.

Its mandate runs out after the bank holiday. The result of that new ballot is due mid June and unlike the last one which was organised by individual workplaces this is national ballot, which could mean nurses from across the country could walkout.

Currently, it only has a mandate for half of services in England as the other half did not reach the required threshold for the vote to count.

Nurses from the Royal College of Nursing union have rejected the government's pay offer


Unite, one of the smaller health unions which represents NHS staff such as support workers, admin staff and paramedics, also said members at London's Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital and Yorkshire Ambulance Service would walk out on 1 May.

It said the industrial action was likely to be followed by members in other services later that week.

Its ballot of members over the pay offer - a 5% increase this year along with a one-off payment of at least £1,655 - is not yet closed, but the union said it was acting as it was clear many of their members were rejecting the deal.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham says: "All along we have said this offer is nowhere near good enough for NHS workers. The government needs to return to negotiations and put more money on the table."

Speaking to the BBC, University College London Hospitals chief executive David Probert said the spate of industrial action over recent months had left staff exhausted.

He warned the nurses' strike, which for the first time will involve staff in critical areas such as intensive care, will have a "severe impact".

He predicted planned care would "almost disappear".

And he added: "It's possible that elements of our emergency care will not be open during the strike."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
Trump Signals JD Vance as ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Successor for 2028
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
Representative Greene Urges H-1B Visa Cuts Amid U.S.-India Trade Tensions
U.S. House Committee Subpoenas Clintons and Senior Officials in Epstein Investigation
Sydney Sweeney Registered as Republican as Controversial American Eagle Ad Sparks Debate
Trump Accuses Major Banks of Politically Motivated Account Denials and Prepares Executive Order
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
Declassified Annex Links Soros‑Affiliated Officials and Clinton Campaign to ‘Russiagate’ Narrative
×