departments, and to make inroads into the backlog of care that built up into the backlog of care that built up and was building up before covid and built up a lot more during covid. that balancing act, meeting demand and making inroads into the backlog, is a tough thing to do it the best of times, it is impossible to do when you are losing around half your medical staff. so there is no question that the targets we have set for ourselves, the aims we have got to reduce those waiting lists are going to be dented by this and thatis are going to be dented by this and that is a real pity. because we had been making progress, we had got to the stage at the end of march where we massively reduced almost to zero the number of people waiting more than 18 months for example for a procedure. so it is kind of heartbreaking if you have been a leader in the health service, anyone in the health service, and you have got those waiting this down, you have got, achieve the balancing act and lo
appointments, those outpatient appointments, those outpatient appointments, those cancer scans, and that is exactly what happens in the last round ofjunior doctor strikes and that is what they worry is going to happen this time and thatis is going to happen this time and that is where the figure of between 250 and 350 possible cancelled or delayed appointments and operations comes from at the moment. so it is those elective, pre booked procedures, which there is most concerned about through this junior doctors strike this week. but concerned about through this “unior doctors strike this week. doctors strike this week. but this into context. doctors strike this week. but this into context, because doctors strike this week. but this into context, because i doctors strike this week. but this into context, because i don t - doctors strike this week. but this. into context, because i don t think the nhs in england has ever seen a strike as wides red and with such a huge impact as th