NEARLY 2,000 hospital appointments were cancelled in Southampton when junior doctors went on strike.

New figures from NHS England show that 1,854 appointments at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (UHS) were rescheduled as a result of the strikes last week.

Of those cancelled, 158 were inpatient procedures, while 1,696 were outpatient.

UHS has said the trust has "always" been able to provide "high quality, safe care" during industrial action.

READ MORE: Junior doctors join picket line as four-day strike begins

Last week, junior doctors staged a four-day walk-out from April 11 to 15 following a dispute over pay.

Members of the British Medical Association took part in one of the longest industrial actions in health care services.

They are asking for a 35 per cent pay rise.

A spokesperson for University Hospital Southampton said: “Throughout all periods of industrial action, our priority at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust has always been to provide high quality, safe care to our patients.

“Unfortunately, as we anticipated, disruption to services was inevitable. Any appointments that were unable to go ahead are being rescheduled.”

It comes just months after nurses at the hospital went on strike.

READ MORE: Southampton junior doctor missed her grandmother's funeral for work

A total of 1,091 nurses at the trust took part in the industrial action.

A report revealed that around 695 walked out on January 18 and 703 the following day.

Bosses had agreed to more than 100 strike action exemptions to cover inpatients with night-time staffing cover, and bank holiday levels of staffing for assessment areas.

This led to staffing levels being at a "bare minimum," a report said.

NHS national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis said the junior doctor figures "lay bare the colossal impact of industrial action on planned care in the NHS".

He said: "While our staff are doing all they possibly can to manage the disruption, it is becoming increasingly difficult and the impact on patients and staff will unfortunately continue to worsen."

Dr Vivek Trivedi and Dr Robert Laurenson, of the British Medical Association’s junior doctors committee, said: "Junior doctors know all too well the frustration of patients waiting too long for care, and with a waiting list of 7.2 million in England, we are facing difficult conversations with them every single day."