Junior doctors strike: 3-day industrial action begins in dispute over pay and conditions - services affected

Tens of thousands of junior doctors have started a three-day strike today (March 13) in a dispute over pay and conditions.

Members of the British Medical Association (BMA) in England have formed picket lines outside hospitals across the country, in what is said to be the longest-ever period of industrial action by junior doctors.

The strike, which began at 7am, is likely to affect every region in England, with consultants and other senior doctors being drafted in to provide cover.

Planned appointments are also likely to be postponed as the strikes are affecting services such as A&E, maternity care and cancer treatment.

NHS leaders have expressed serious concerns about patient safety during the strikes, saying they fear a significant impact on cancer care and backlog recovery, putting the government’s pledge to reduce waiting times at risk.

The BMA has told its members they do not need to inform employers whether they will be participating and advised consultants not to cancel any private work to cover rota gaps.

It agreed junior doctors will leave the picket line in the event of a mass casualty incident, as a terror attack, but said a trust declaring a critical incident due to pressures was not enough.

The BMA will be joined in the strike by juniors from the smaller Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association and the British Dental Association.

They are demanding “pay restoration” after cuts of 26% once inflation is taken into account since 2008. They said the 35% rise is needed to make up for the 26% cut.

Despite the massive industrial action, Steve Barclay, the health secretary, warned that meeting the demands would cost £2 billion was “simply unaffordable”.