ABOUT 200 junior doctors were absent from work at York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals Trust from Monday to Wednesday last week during the latest round of industrial action, data from NHS England reveals.

The strike ran for five days, from 7am on Saturday February 24 to 11.59pm on Wednesday February 28.

Junior doctors turned up for their regular shifts again from 7am on Thursday February 29.

An industrial action ‘workforce situation report’ published by NHS England reveals that 197 junior doctors were absent from work at York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals Trust on Monday February 26, rising to 216 on Tuesday and falling to 181 on Wednesday.

The action actually began at the weekend, but fewer doctors were absent from work then – just 72 on the Saturday and 69 on the Sunday.

At the height of the action, from Monday to Wednesday, more than 3,000 junior doctors were absent from work each day across the North East and Yorkshire – and more than 20,000 each day in England as a whole.

More than 91,000 inpatient and outpatient appointments had to be rescheduled across England as a result of last week’s action – bringing the total of appointments rescheduled across the country since the industrial action began to more than 1.4 million.

NHS national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis said: “The NHS has yet again felt the strain of industrial action.

“NHS staff worked incredibly hard to keep patients safe and cover striking colleagues and we are extremely grateful for their huge efforts and for the time and skill that went into the planning.

“Today’s figures show the impact this is having on patients’ lives with 91,048 appointments postponed in recent days, but we know in reality this figure is likely to be far higher.

“At the same time as battling winter viruses and sustained pressures, NHS staff will also now return their focus to routine care and ensuring those patients who were meant to receive tests and treatment in recent days, do so as quickly as possible.”

The BMA has been asking for a 35 per cent 'pay restoration' to take salaries back to pre-austerity levels as its starting position, but has said it is willing to negotiate with the Government.

It said ahead of last week's strike that 'progress was being made' in talks but that the Government had failed to meet a deadline of February 8 to present a credible offer.

Junior doctors, who make up make up around half of the NHS doctor workforce, have received a pay rise averaging nearly nine per cent this financial year.

Speaking ahead of last week's strike, a spokesperson from the York and Scarborough NHS Foundation Trust said: "The junior doctor strike is likely to have an impact, although other doctors, including consultants and other specialist doctors, will still be working."

Last week's strike was the tenth round of industrial action by junior doctors since March 2023.

In January they staged the longest strike in NHS history in January, for six full days from January 3 to January 9.