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17
Nov 2023
Strikes cost Harrogate hospital £1.5m this year
Industrial action has cost the trust which runs Harrogate District Hospital £1.5 million in 2023.
The hospital has been hit by numerous strikes in the last 12 months, with consultants and junior doctors staging walkouts in disputes over pay.
Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said the figure was an “unavoidable cost” as a result of the strikes.
The move comes as NHS England has told hospital trusts to reduce targets for routine care in order to pay for the industrial action.
National health officials have estimated that the 40 days worth of strike action has cost NHS trusts £1 billion.
In a letter signed by Julian Kelly, the chief financial officer for NHS England, and Steve Powis, the national medical director for NHS England, local trusts were told that elective surgery targets would be scaled back.
It said:
Currently, Harrogate hospital has 822 people waiting more than 65 weeks for surgery. No patients are waiting longer than 78 weeks.
However, a spokesperson for Harrogate and District NHS Trust, told the Stray Ferret that it does not expect NHS England’s target adjustment to affect its plans to tackle waiting lists.
They said:
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