NHS Confederation responds to statistics showing impact of latest junior doctor strikes

Responding to the latest NHS England data showing the impact of the junior doctor strikes Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation said:

“Despite health leaders and their teams working tirelessly to fill rotas and cover gaps, it is clear this latest wave of junior doctor strikes has once again had a huge impact on patients and services.

“As always, it is patients who bear the brunt of this ongoing and long-running pay dispute, with more than 91,000 vital operations and appointments being cancelled during this latest wave. It is important to remember that behind every number is a patient who may be living in pain or discomfort waiting for treatment that could turn their lives around.  

“Our members and their teams will be working hard to contact patients and rebook all appointments and scheduled procedures as soon as they can, but this is a time consuming and expensive exercise at a time when trusts are doing all they can to continue to focus on improving performance and tackling care backlogs.

“We hope that the government and BMA’s junior doctors committee can restart negotiations as soon as possible to find a solution that ends this negative cycle of strikes which is putting such pressure on NHS services and crucially on patients.”