Junior doctors in England have begun what is scheduled to be the longest strike in NHS history from 3 January.
The BMA has been pushing for junior doctors to get a 35% pay rise, which it says would restore their earnings after inflation to 2008 levels. Ministers say that is unaffordable.
Tens of thousands of patients will have their care cancelled from Wednesday in England amid the massive disruption caused by the six-day strike.
NHS bosses fear patient safety could be compromised during this week’s strikes if medics do not honour an agreement to abandon picket lines if hospitals become overwhelmed during the winter crisis.
One of Rishi Sunak’s key targets for the NHS – to eliminate waits of longer than 65 weeks for operations and other procedures by March – is likely to be missed because of strike action, health bosses warned last week.
We’d like to hear people’s views on the strikes, and whether they fear they may be affected by the walkout. We’d also like to hear from junior doctors as well as other NHS staff how they feel about this strike action.
