Operations cancelled as doctor's strike hits hard

Kirsty MacLean leads the junior doctors on the picket line at the Royal Oldham Hospital

More than 2,100 appointments and 231 non-urgent routine operations were cancelled by The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust to ensure safe staffing levels across its four hospital sites during the junior doctor’s strike action.

The Trust, which runs The Royal Oldham, North Manchester and Fairfield General Hospitals and Rochdale Infirmary, was forced to contact patients in advance of the national industrial action, which saw a full withdrawal of junior doctors’ labour between 8am and 5pm on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Nationally, more than 100,000 routine appointments and nearly 13,000 operations were postponed - but NHS bosses said hospitals coped “admirably”.