ore than half a million appointments, operations and procedures have been postponed in England as a result of the wave of industrial unrest in the NHS.
Strikes began towards the end of 2022 in the bitter dispute over NHS pay.
The first mass walkout of nurses in history took place in mid-December, with ambulance workers, physiotherapists and other health workers following suit in subsequent weeks.
In March this year, junior doctors began the first in a wave of strikes, heaping further disruption on the health service.
Some 539,231 appointments, procedures and operations have been postponed as a result of the strikes in England.
This data does not include figures on last week’s 72-hour walkout by junior medics from the British Medical Association (BMA).
The dispute is ongoing for some workers, in particular junior doctors and nurses.
Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) are being balloted over the prospect of continuing walkouts until Christmas, with the vote due to close on June 23.
Meanwhile, doctors are continuing action while calling for “full pay restoration”.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay insisted that his door is still open for negotiations with junior doctors but said there needs to be “movement on both sides”.
Hospital consultants in England have announced they will strike for two days in July if they vote in favour of industrial action.
The BMA said its members will walk out on July 20 and 21 if consultants vote in favour. Results from the ballot are due by the end of the month.
Some unions have settled the matter with ministers after the NHS Staff Council voted to accept the Government’s revised pay offer for staff on the Agenda for Change contract including paramedics, nurses and physiotherapists.
This means that staff on the contract – which includes more than a million NHS workers – will see a bump in their pay packets in coming days.
The new offer represented a 5% pay rise this year and a cash sum for last year for the majority of staff on the contract – which includes all NHS workers apart from doctors, dentists and very senior managers.
But the RCN and Unite rejected the offer and said they were still in dispute with the Government.
Members of these unions will get the pay bump even though they rejected the offer.
