NHS medical director issues warning as junior doctors plan six more days of strikes

The medical director of the NHS has issued a stark warning as junior doctors plan six more days of strike action, as figures reveal the number of cancelled appointments has now topped 1.2m.

Figures released by NHS England reveal that since the strikes began the number of acute inpatient and outpatient appointments which have rescheduled has reached 1,219,422. Last week's 72-hour stoppage alone saw 86,329 appointments rescheduled, according to the NHS.

It comes as junior doctors prepare for a record six-day strike from 7am on January 3.

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NHS national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis said: “This latest round of strike action over the festive period has put an already overloaded heath service under significantly more pressure - three days of strike action, ending two days before Christmas, has seen almost 86,000 more appointments rescheduled for patients needing care.

"As well as having an impact on planned care, industrial action is putting pressure on wider services, and prioritising emergency care takes staff away from other areas such as recovering services.

"With another six-day walkout coming in the New Year at what is one of the busiest times for the health service, strike action is once again going to bring significant challenges to the NHS as it struggles to provide for patients amid severe disruption.

"As ever, over the festive period, we encourage people to attend A&E and call 999 in life-threatening emergencies, but to use 111 online for other health needs."

Industrial action was announced after weeks of talks between unions and ministers