MORE than 1,500 appointments across Hampshire Hospitals have had to be rescheduled due to strikes. 

Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trust (HHFT) had to reschedule 1,569 appointments as a result of junior doctor strikes, new figures show.  

This was because of a 96-hour strike from April 11 to 15 in a dispute over pay.  

Out of the rescheduled appointments across Hampshire, 173 were inpatient procedures, while 1,396 were outpatient, according to NHS England figures. 

READ MORE: Strikes: doctors picket for second time this year over pay

The British Medical Association has demanded a 35 per cent pay rise, which Health Secretary Steve Barclay labelled "unrealistic".

Across England, nearly 200,000 hospital appointments and procedures also had to be rescheduled due to the 96-hour strike

Dr Lara Alloway, chief medical officer at HHFT, said: “Despite extensive planning and the hard work of our colleagues, we knew that significant disruption to services was unavoidable during periods of industrial action.

“The re-scheduling of a number of appointments was necessary to ensure we were best placed to provide emergency care, and thanks to the incredible efforts of our colleagues we were able to keep our urgent care – and numerous other services such as cancer care – running safely last week."

Dr Alloway apologised for the additional wait of its planned care but reassured that the hospital trust has "robust plans" to ensure its teams see patients and re-book appointments as quickly as possible.