Resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors have taken to the picket lines across England calling for a 29 per cent pay increase.
The five-day walkout which began at 7am on Friday is due to last until Wednesday next week.
Sir Jim Mackey, chief executive of NHS England, has described the strikes as “very annoying and disappointing” and warned that the move “can’t be consequence-free”.
It has been reported that doctors will be warned that repeated absences from duties could slow career progression.
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The health secretary said that while he cannot pledge a bigger pay rise, he has been committed to progress to improve doctors’ working lives.
He also said he does not now believe the British Medical Association’s resident doctors committee (RDC) has “engaged with me in good faith” over bids to avert the strike.
The National Health Service said emergency departments would be open and hospitals and clinics would try to carry out as many scheduled appointments as possible, according to reports.
Dr. Melissa Ryan and Dr. Ross Nieuwoudt, chairs of the union’s resident doctors committee, said “pay erosion has now got to the point where a doctor’s assistant can be paid up to 30% more than a resident doctor.”
Health sector staff staged a series of rolling strikes over more than a year in 2023-24, seeking pay rises to offset the rising cost of living. The strikes forced tens of thousands of appointments and procedures to be postponed.
The strikes hit efforts by the National Health Service to dig out of an appointment backlog that ballooned after the COVID-19 pandemic and led to longer waiting times to see a doctor.
