Data on the recent industrial action by junior doctors has been released by the NHS.

Since strikes began, the cumulative total of acute inpatient and outpatient appointments rescheduled is now nearly 1.5 million.

Junior doctors took industrial action from 7am on Thursday 27 June to 7am on Tuesday 2 July.

The action saw 67,034 inpatient and outpatient appointments rescheduled, and 23,001 staff were absent from work due to strikes at the peak of the action.

NHS national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis said: “These figures bring into sharp focus the impact that this latest round of industrial action has had on patients, with more than 67,000 appointments postponed in recent days – but we know in reality this is likely to be even higher.

“I am extremely grateful to staff for working incredibly hard to keep patients safe and prioritise care for those who needed it most, when demand for urgent and emergency services has been high.

“Colleagues across the NHS will now be doing everything they can to ensure patients who were due to receive consultations, tests or treatment get appointments rebooked as quickly as possible.”