Junior doctors strikes: NHS staff absence due to walkouts falls
The analysis from the health service also found that more care was delivered during the five-day strike than in previous industrial action.
Junior doctors, now known as resident doctors in the NHS, walked out for five days on July 25 in a dispute with the government over pay.
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, and the British Medical Association (BMA) say they are continuing talks over the summer to prevent further strike action from the doctors.
The NHS estimated that 11,071 more appointments and procedures went ahead as planned compared with industrial action from junior doctors in 2024.
In previous industrial action, hospitals cancelled or rescheduled elective procedures to prepare for the walkouts. However, during this round of strikes, hospitals endeavoured to keep planned appointments going ahead as scheduled throughout the walk-outs.
Streeting said the figures show the NHS 'was more resilient against last month's strike action than ever before'.
'We are getting on with the job of delivering progress in the face of strike action, and we will continue to put patients first,' he said. 'I had a constructive conversation with the BMA last week and I am glad they've agreed to continue engagement through the summer with the mutual aim of preventing further disruption to the NHS and patients.'
Professor Meghana Pandit, NHS national medical director, said: 'It is very welcome news that the resident doctors committee has returned to talks, and we hope this leads to a resolution that avoids further disruption for patients.'
Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospital trusts, said: 'Despite a five-day strike in July by some doctors, the NHS provided an estimated 11,000 more appointments and procedures compared to during their five-day walkout in July last year.'
• NHS patients told to brace for strikes until Christmas and beyond
'We hope that talks between the union and the government bear fruit and that any more disruptive strikes can be avoided. NHS trust leaders want to focus on improving services for patients and doing everything they can to improve things for valued resident doctors.'
The doctors' union has, however, said that the action 'was totally avoidable'. It has previously said that the difference in absences could not be accurately compared between the strike years due to changes in the numbers taking annual leave. A spokesman added: 'Had the government just come forward with a credible offer toward pay restoration for resident doctors, those doctors would have been at work. Instead, government inaction meant we saw yet more cancellations, delays and chaos in a health system that is already seeing far too much of all three.
'We hope government uses the opportunity of our ongoing talks to avoid any need for future action. Today's figures show there are far too many patients on waiting lists relying on a swift and just resolution to this dispute.'
Separate NHS figures show that the health service delivered a record number of appointments in June, with 103,563 more treatments carried out than this time last year.
The latest performance data from NHS England shows an estimated 7.37 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of June, relating to 6.23 million patients — up from 7.36 million treatments and just under 6.23 million patients at the end of May.
The slight increase, which NHS officials have put down to more people coming forward for appointments, comes after the list fell for two consecutive months.
The numbers waiting for more than 18 months to start treatment were also down to 1,103, from 1,237 in May.
Some 10,517 patients had been waiting more than 65 weeks, down from 11,522 the previous month. This figure stood at 58,024 in June 2024.
The number of patients waiting more than 52 weeks to start routine treatment also fell to 191,813 from 196,920 at the end of May.
Tim Gardner, assistant director of policy at the Health Foundation, said: 'While summer is often a time for the NHS to catch its breath, today's data shows hospitals and ambulance services remain under relentless pressure.'
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