The first junior doctors' strike came with a £1m cost to the trust running Royal Stoke University Hospital, it has been revealed.

The three-day walk-out led to planned procedures and outpatient appointments being cancelled in March – and it was followed by four days of industrial action last month.

University Hospitals of North Midlands (UHNM) NHS Trust, which runs Royal Stoke and Stafford's County Hospital, made preparations ahead of the industrial action. Board members were warned in March that that locum cover could be sought from agencies, but this would come at a financial cost.

The walkouts were organised by the British Medical Association as part of an ongoing pay dispute with the Government. The BMA has said pay has been cut by more than a quarter in real terms in 2008 and has called for a 35% pay rise for junior doctors, but the government has said this is "unreasonable".

The walkouts were organised by BMA as part of an ongoing pay dispute (SWNS).

At last month's board meeting members heard consultants were drafted in to plug workforce gaps in the emergency department during the first junior doctors' strike. The trust's chief finance officer Mark Oldham said: "The junior doctors' strike at the beginning of March had a cost of circa £1m, which has been absorbed."

Chief executive Tracy Bullock told the board: "Things seem to have gone relatively quiet at the moment. We do not have any future dates for strike action.

"We do know there is a meeting imminently between junior doctors' leaders and the Government but we don't know what that will lead to or how successful it will be. We will keep people informed of anything that comes out of that.

"Our nurses didn't strike (from April 30 to May 1) but surrounding hospitals did. We had a very good weekend; I think it's fair to say impact from neighbouring hospitals has been extremely minimal."

The strike meant that many planned appointment were cancelled in March (SWNS).

Her report to the board added: "Following the junior doctors' strike action we saw an increase in the number of patients using our emergency departments. What is really pleasing to be able to report is that we have continued to ensure that ambulance crews are able to offload patients quickly and the numbers of people facing delays in the emergency department is also reducing.

"We are by no means there yet but all of the focussed effort by ward teams, divisions, the emergency team, site team, portering colleagues and more is having an impact. My thanks go to all staff for their continued effort in playing their part in delivering outstanding care to our patients."

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