Doctors could stage 'Christmas Day style strike' - Telegraph.co.uk

The other option would be to run a series of days like yesterday where doctors were in their normal place of work but only treated urgent cases.

The proposed action would have a far greater impact than yesterday's strike.

In May the British Medical Association insisted it had a "strong" mandate for industrial action when half its members responded to a ballot with 79 per cent of votes in favour.

However, according to the Department of Health, just 1,500 hospital doctors - equivalent to 8 per cent of those working in England - took part yesterday. Less than 10 per cent of operations and outpatient appointments were cancelled.

Family doctors were also reluctant to join the action, with three quarters of GP practices treating all patients as normal and only one in four restricting consultations to urgent cases.

In London hospitals cancelled 490 operations, about 10 per cent of the number expected to take place, while 3,900 outpatient appointments - equivalent to 5 per cent - were rescheduled. Two thirds of GPs offered a normal service.

The impact was also limited outside the capital. Just 7 per cent of GP surgeries were affected by industrial action in the North East region, with 9 per cent in Dudley and Berkshire, 13 per cent in Hampshire and none at all on the Isle of Wight.

However the BMA said government figures should be treated with 'extreme caution' and their own data suggested that in England up to a quarter of non-urgent cases were postponed, and around a third of GP practices took some form of action.

Dr Porter said the strength of feeling among doctors should not be measured by the number of patients' lives that have been disrupted.

He added that hospital managers had exploited doctors during the strike by loading up operating lists with "urgent" cases which were in fact routine which made doctors angry.

He said: "The only way open to us results in patient disruption and to many doctors that there is a lot of relief that they can demonstrate their feeling but relatively few patients were inconvenienced by this."

A vote will be held to replace him and the new chairman will hold a meeting of council on Thursday to consider the impact of yesterday's action and talk about the next steps.

Other candidates for the post of chairman of BMA council were not as bullish about further action showing a split at the top of the organisation.

Dr Michael Rees professor of cardiovascular studies and BMA medical academic staff committee co-chairman, said he was 'uncomfortable' with the industrial action.

He told the Daily Telegraph: "The industrial action felt more like a protest than a strike and I am happy about that. I am quite happy for their to be further protest but I would be extremely uncomfortable and would find it impossible to be chairman of an organisation that would take action that affects patients."

NHS employers and patient groups were dismayed at the prospect of further industrial action by doctors.

Dean Royles, director of the NHS Employers organisation, said: "As the BMA council now reflects on the day's events, I would ask that they recognise the distress the action has caused to thousands of patients and their families.

"We urge them to leave patients out of the pensions dispute. Further industrial action will only cause distress and potentially harm patients."

Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary, said: "Doctors have expressed their anger, but we can see from yesterday that they do not want to put patient's services at risk.

"I continue to offer the BMA, along with other NHS unions, the opportunity to discuss the new pension agreement. It's time the BMA joined the other unions in those discussions."

Mark Catterall, 41, an IT specialist from Poole, Bournemouth, said he was "absolutely fuming" at having his operation cancelled.

He could have to wait until August "at the earliest" for the procedure at the Royal County Hospital in Winchester, to repair scarring on his urethra which leaves him in pain when using the lavatory.

He said: "The condition means I find it difficult to go to the toilet and I constantly get kidney infections. I found out last week that it wouldn't be going ahead because of the strike and was absolutely fuming."