More than 2,500 appointments and operations in Nottingham were postponed as a result of junior doctor strikes earlier this month. Members of the British Medical Association (BMA) took industrial action over pay between March 13 and 15.
Staff at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) and Sherwood Forest Hospitals (SFH) took part in the 72-hour national strike. The number of junior doctors on strike at NUH, which runs Queen's Medical Centre and City Hospital, peaked at 848 - equating to 96%.
Junior doctors account for around 50% of the NHS trust's entire workforce. The widespread action led to a total of 2,574 appointments and procedures being postponed over the three-day period.
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The BMA last week announced an even bigger strike - a 96-hour walkout from April 11 to 14 - after unfruitful talks with the Government. A spokesperson for NUH said the March industrial action had resulted in a delay in achieving its target of eliminating 18-month waits for planned care for patients by the end of the month.
"Our teams are working hard to reschedule patients as early as possible," they said. In the next round of industrial action in April, patients are advised to "please turn up for any appointments unless they hear otherwise from us".
In papers released ahead of the trust's next board meeting, chief executive Anthony May said the industrial action had passed without any notable increase in patient safety incidents. He said as well as postponing a "significant" number of appointments, consultants stepped in to cover junior doctor shifts during the strike.
At SFH, which operates King's Mill, Mansfield Community and Newark hospitals, up to 200 junior doctors went on strike, with 198 appointments and surgeries being pushed back. Chief operating officer Rachel Eddie said: "We know there is a patient behind each and every one of those appointments and while thorough planning did help to minimise the impact on planned care, there was – regrettably – a number of procedures and appointments that needed to be postponed to ensure we could focus on continuing to provide safe urgent and emergency care.
"The impact of those delays on patients is not lost on our hard-working teams and I would like to thank all those patients whose appointments were affected for their understanding. We are working hard to reschedule all those appointments to ensure affected patients can access the care they deserve as quickly as possible."
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