The total for the year has now passed 1.1million, costing the NHS £1.4billion, as the British Medical Association’s walkout misery drags on.

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NHS medical director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, called this week “extraordinarily challenging”.

Both consultants and junior doctors went on strike together from Monday to Wednesday, with a total of around 26,000 staff off work each day.

As a result, 122,441 more appointments, operations and treatments were called off.

Prof Powis said: “It has been particularly difficult this week as we had little time to recover from the last round of action.

“As we approach the winter period, when we are under significantly more pressure, strikes are increasingly challenging.”

Prof Powis and England’s chief nurse, Dame Ruth May, this week urged the BMA to tone down strikes because cancer and heart patients, and pregnant women, were at risk.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said: “This week’s co-ordinated strike and the BMA’s hard-line stance on providing strike day cover has clearly had a significant impact on patients.

“I share the concerns of NHS leaders about the risk to patient safety.”
Junior doctors have now been on strike seven times this year and consultants four times.

The militant BMA has threatened to continue walkouts deep into next year and even until the next general election.

Sir Julian Hartley, of NHS Providers which represents hospital bosses, said: “The effects of this disruption will be felt for weeks and months to come.

“This failure to resolve strikes is piling the pressure on the NHS and is having a huge impact on staff morale, resilience and teamwork, too.”