He plans to cut the number of hours on a weekend that junior doctors can claim extra pay.
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He said it devalues the vital work junior doctors do in the evenings and at weekends.
Senior managers at both hospitals refused to disclose how many appointments have been axed but stressed they have done all they can to ensure there are enough staff cover the shortages while all patients affected by cancellations have been contacted.
Those who manned picket lines outside Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester General and Glenfield Hospitals said they felt the day of action had gone well.
If no resolution is found, there will be a 48-hour stoppage from January 26, with thousands of junior doctors will once again only provide emergency care, followed by a full walkout on February 10.
In Tuesday’s strike, junior doctors continued to provide emergency care.
Gillian Rivlin, a junior paediatrician for four years, said: “We felt that the public did not understand but since the conclusion of the last strike, there has been a lot of education”.
The British Medical Association (BMA) is concerned about pay for weekend working, career progression and safeguards to protect doctors from being over-worked.
Three strikes were called off at the 11th hour on November 30 after the Government, the BMA and NHS Employers agreed to continue talks through the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas).
The first junior doctors’ strike in 40 years finished at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, but one NHS chief has already warned that future strikes could cost patients their lives.
The doctors – medical-school graduates training to be consultants or family practitioners – are providing emergency care for only the 24 hours that started at 8am London time.
There are two more strikes planned for later this month if the government and the BMA fail to come to an agreement.
Liz Holland, a Unite the Union representative, told Key103 why she joined the picket at the Manchester Royal Infirmary: “I believe that the changes they are trying to make to the contract would be disastrous for patient care and it is completely unfair”.
This is the first strike by junior doctors over pay and conditions since 1975.
“Our clinical teams will be working to minimise any disruption as a result of the current pressure or the planned industrial action today”.
There are more than 55,000 junior doctors in England, a position covering people who have just graduated from medical school through to those with more than a decade of experience.
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The dispute has led to an increasingly bitter war of words, with Hunt accusing some within the BMA of using strikes as a political opportunity to attack the Conservative government “that they hate”.
