Why junior doctors are staging unprecedented two day walkout

Q What is the strike all about?

A In a nutshell, the Government says NHS services need to be improved at weekends and that junior doctors, many of them who are actually very senior with a decade’s experience, should sign up to the new contracts to improve seven-day cover.

Q So what’s so terrible about the new contracts?

A The new deal increases basic pay by 13.5 per cent. But the British Medical Association, which has about 38,000 members, is unhappy that Saturdays will no longer attract premium rates, unless a doctor works at least one a month.

Q How much do junior doctors get paid?

A Trainee doctors currently start at £22,636, rising to £30,000 after four years. But a complex system of supplements means they can earn on average £40,000 in the initial stages of training, according to the Department of Health. Experienced junior doctors can earn in excess of £70,000. They can be in charge of teams making life and death decisions.

Q But why can’t the two sides just sit down and thrash this out? A The strikes come after three years of talks and failed conciliation talks. Doctors voted for industrial action as long ago as November which gives them a valid mandate still. They have been on strike on four occasions since then. Q If they have been on strike before, what’s so special this time?

O n Tuesday, the junior doctors will begin two days of stoppages from 8am to 5pm, totalling 18 hours in all. But this time, doctors will withdraw from all emergency care as well as routine work. That will affect A&E, labour wards and intensive care for the first time in NHS history.

Q Without junior doctors won’t the NHS collapse?

A NHS England says trusts have plans in place to cope with consultants being drafted in to cover emergency areas. More than 125,000 operations and appointments have been cancelled. Expectant mothers have been told to contact maternity units while doctors have warned cancer patients will miss appointments.