DOCTORS say they have not ruled out further industrial action after a day in which more than 3600 hospital patients in Scotland had their appointments cancelled because of the dispute over pensions.

As medics took industrial action for the first time in 37 years, around 450 inpatient and day surgery cases were postponed, with a further 60% of GP surgeries also affected.

The protest comes as doctors face new terms to their pension deals which would see their post-work income based on average career earnings rather than their final salary, with the retirement age raised to 68.

The British Medical Association (BMA), which represents 14,000 doctors in Scotland, said the current proposals renege on a fair pensions deal struck in 2008 and it had not ruled out further action.

Doctors turned up to work as usual yesterday but workloads were significantly impacted by the action, which is being held in a bid to open dialogue with the UK Government.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde cancelled 57 inpatient appointments and 113 day case procedures but insisted all patients affected would be rescheduled for no later than August 31, with waiting list targets unlikely to be affected.

Some health boards will reschedule operations on a Saturday and a Sunday to avoid further unnecessary delays.

Dr Crispin Best, a consultant at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children at Yorkhill, Glasgow, said only one routine operating list of four to five patients was completed yesterday compared to the normal daily rate of around 30 to 40 routine operations.

Dr Best said that, as a result, around 25 emergency cases were dealt with compared to the usual 10 to 15 critical cases, given the release of pressure on bed spaces created by the drop in routine cases.

He said: "Taking industrial action and having patients affected is just not what I, or my colleagues, are about. People have been inconvenienced by this strike but nobody would suffer and we made absolute guarantees about that."

Dr Best added: "I'm 57 and it is not going to affect me very much at all. The reason I am taking action is for the new doctor who has qualified with £80,000 worth of debt who is going to have to pay an extra £250,000 to retire at the age of 68. You have to ask if you really want a surgeon or an anaesthetist working until that age."

NHS Ayrshire and Arran said more than one-quarter of scheduled appointments and procedures – 342 of 1212 outpatient appointments and 27 of 80 theatre cases – were postponed as a result of the action.

A&E departments and maternity services ran as normal yesterday with tests for critical conditions still available.

Margaret Watt, of the Scotland Patients Association, said the organisation broadly supported the action. She added: "We were concerned about the inconvenience to the patients but what is important to note is that today is not a strike, it is a work to rule. The doctors are there. If this was a strike, they would be out on the streets.

"We know of at least one case where a woman turned up for her operation as she didn't know about the action and they went ahead and did her surgery. That tells you the lengths the doctors will go to."

The association called for greater clarity on pension figures from the UK Government.

The UK Government has claimed taxpayers pay an estimated £67 billion of the £83bn cost to health service pensions.

The BMA countered that the NHS pension scheme for staff who have retired is paid for by current NHS staff.

A BMA spokesman said that the scheme currently brings in £2bn more than it pays out. The association added that, under the latest changes, doctors will be paying up to 14.5% of their pay towards their pensions.