HUNDREDS of operations and patient appointments at the trust which runs Furness General Hospital in Barrow have been cancelled because of this week's unprecedented junior doctors' strike.

The strike - the result of a row between the government and doctors over hours and pay - has included A&E, maternity and intensive care units for the first time ever.

It has resulted in the postponement of 406 planned surgeries and 345 outpatient appointments across the trust that runs Furness General Hospital in Barrow - which will all be rescheduled.

They are among some 13,000 routine operations and more than 100,000 hospital appointments reported to have been deferred nationwide.

Bosses within University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust, which employs 93 junior doctors across its three sites, had urged people to avoid its busy accident and emergency department unless they had suffered a life-threatening illness or accident.

But they pledged robust plans were in place to ensure the safety of patients - with consultants and senior medics providing cover across all wards and departments.

David Wilkinson, director of workforce at UHMBT, described the situation as "challenging", but said: "Knowing the strike dates and the nature of the action well in advance has meant that we have been able to plan for the inevitable service disruption."

More than 20,000 junior doctors are thought to have been on strike yesterday as the dispute with the government over a new contract continues.

Figures complied by NHS England suggest 78% of junior doctors (21,608) who were expected to be working on Tuesday did not report for duty. However, NHS England said the figures had not been fully validated and includes those who may be off due to sickness or other reasons. 

During the previous strike earlier this month, around 14,600 junior doctors were not at work on each of the two days. 

Of those, around 12,800 (88%) were actually on strike, with the remainder absent for other reasons such as sickness, NHS England said.