Responding to official figures showing 944,470 appointments across hospital, mental health and community services have now been postponed due to NHS strikes since December – 47,129 of which were from the latest consultants' strike on 24 to 26 August – Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive at NHS Providers said:

"Trust leaders are alarmed by the snowballing impact of the strikes on patients.

"Nearly 1 million people across England have now had appointments for hospital, mental health and community care pushed back due to the walkouts since December. On top of that, there is the immeasurable impact of all the appointments that couldn't be booked on the day of a strike itself.

"Trust leaders understand why some staff feel pushed to strike, but they are also worried by the impact this is having on patients and wider workforce morale, as well as by the long-lasting damage this could cause the NHS.

"The walkouts are hampering trusts' hard-won progress towards vital elective recovery targets including to bring down the waiting list – a key government pledge. They have also delivered a huge financial blow to the NHS, costing around £1bn mainly through lost income and hiring expensive staff cover.

"This will be compounded in a few weeks when consultants strike again and if junior doctors vote later this week to support further stoppages over the next six months.

"No one can afford this dispute to continue. Talks between the government and unions must resume."