THOUSANDS of patients have had their operations and appointments cancelled despite a strike by junior doctors being called off - including a number in Taunton.

A temporary agreement reached on Monday night between Government officials, the British Medical Association (BMA) and NHS Employers means three days of strikes will now no longer go ahead, as long as a final settlement can be agreed.

The dispute is over new pay and working conditions for junior doctors working in the NHS.

There has already been mass disruption to the service, with thousands of patients unable to undergo operations or attend appointments on Tuesday alone.

A snapshot survey of almost 20 NHS trusts revealed around 600 operations and procedures cancelled alongside around 3,500 outpatient appointments.

At Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, around a dozen operations have been postponed together with a "number of outpatient clinics".


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Others who had already taken steps to minimise disruption include Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, where 90 out of 624 operations have been cancelled and are being rescheduled, alongside 565 out of around 5,000 outpatient appointments.

Weston Area Health NHS Trust has cancelled around 120 out of 320 planned outpatient appointments alongside 12 non-urgent operations. The trust stopped booking operations when the BMA ballot came back as a Yes vote.

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust has cancelled and rebooked 68 inpatient appointments and planned operations (18 per cent of activity) together with 740 outpatient appointments (16 per cent).

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust has cancelled 40 operations and 400 outpatient appointments and will rebook them.

Airedale NHS Foundation Trust has cancelled 80 per cent of planned operations. The trust is rescheduling 100 elective procedures or operations - 30 inpatients and 70 day cases.