Almost 1,000 appointments at East Lancashire Hospitals Trust were rescheduled as a result of the junior doctor strike last week, new figures show.

NHS England figures show 963 appointments at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust were rescheduled as a result of the strikes – of them, 140 were inpatient procedures, while 823 were outpatient.

Across England, nearly 200,000 hospital appointments and procedures had to be rescheduled due to a 96-hour strike from April 11 to 15 in a dispute over pay.

NHS national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis said the figures "lay bare the colossal impact of industrial action on planned care in the NHS".

Nationally, there were 20,470 inpatient and 175,755 outpatient appointments, making a total of 196,225.

Tony McDonald, executive director of integrated care, partnerships and resilience for East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust said: "We worked incredibly hard to keep as many services running as normal and would like to thank everyone who was involved in that.  

"While we did everything possible to minimise disruption there were, unfortunately, some patients whose appointments had to be rearranged.

"All appointments have been rebooked and we apologise for any inconvenience or worry the rescheduling has caused."

The British Medical Association has demanded a 35 per cent pay rise, which Health Secretary Steve Barclay labelled "unrealistic".

Dr Vivek Trivedi and Dr Robert Laurenson, of the British Medical Association’s junior doctors committee said: "Junior doctors know all too well the frustration of patients waiting too long for care, and with a waiting list of 7.2 million in England, we are facing difficult conversations with them every single day.

"These millions of patients are not in this position because of strikes though. Persistent under-resourcing of the health service and under-valuing staff – exacerbated by a pandemic – mean we simply don’t have the workforce and capacity to provide the high-quality and timely care that patients need and deserve.

"This is why we have been led to strike, and 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.”

Mr Barclay said: "It’s deeply disappointing that hundreds of thousands of appointments and procedures had to be cancelled last week as a result of some junior doctors taking strike action.

"This walkout clearly had an impact on many patients as well as hampering our efforts to cut NHS waiting lists.

"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 per cent pay increase – which would result in some junior doctors receiving a pay rise of £20,000.

"Thank you to all the staff who have worked tirelessly to cover for striking junior doctors during this period."

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

"While our staff are doing all they possibly can to manage the disruption, it is becoming increasingly difficult and the impact on patients and staff will unfortunately continue to worsen."