The wave of industrial unrest in the NHS has meant that more than half a million appointments, operations and procedures have been postponed in England.

Strikes began towards the end of 2022 in a dispute over pay.

The first mass walkout of nurses in history took place in mid-December and ambulance workers, physiotherapists and other health workers followed suit, striking in the weeks after.

Junior doctors began the first in a wave of strikes, heaping further disruption on the health service in March this year.

More than half a million NHS appointments,  procedures and operations postponed

As a result of strikes in England, some 539,231 appointments, procedures and operations have been postponed.

This data doesn’t include figures on last week’s 72-hour walkout by junior medics from the British Medical Association (BMA).

For some workers, the dispute is ongoing, in particular junior doctors and nurses.

Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) are being balloted over the prospect of continuing walkouts until Christmas, with the vote due to close on June 23.

Meanwhile, doctors are continuing action while calling for “full pay restoration”.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay insisted that his door is still open for negotiations with junior doctors but said there needs to be “movement on both sides”.

In July, hospital consultants in England announced they will strike for two days if they vote in favour of industrial action.

The BMA said its members will walk out on July 20 and 21 if consultants vote in favour.

Results from the ballot are due by the end of the month.

Some unions have settled the matter with ministers after the NHS Staff Council voted to accept the Government’s revised pay offer for staff on the Agenda for Change contract including paramedics, nurses and physiotherapists.

This means that staff on the contract, including more than a million NHS workers, will see a bump in their pay packets in the coming days.

The new offer represented a 5% pay rise this year and a cash sum for last year for the majority of staff on the contract which includes all NHS workers apart from doctors, dentists and very senior managers.

Despite this, the RCN and Unite rejected the offer and said they were still in dispute with the Government.

Even though they rejected the offer, members of these unions will still get the pay bump.