Thousands of junior doctors across England, protesting new contract and weekend pay rates, staged a walkout today as part of their second 24-hour strike in as many months, resulting in cancellation of over 3,000 operations.
Today's strike follows the first such strike in England in 40 years on January 12.
The walkout follows a breakdown of last-ditch talks between the British Medical Association (BMA), NHS Employers and the UK government's Department of Health over the shape of the new contract that all juniors in England will operate under from August this year.
The main sticking point remains payments for working on weekends and the government has argued the current arrangements are outdated and changes are needed to improve standards of medical care at the weekend.
The strike resulted in nearly 3,000 non-urgent surgeries being cancelled.
"No doctor wants to take industrial action, and our door has always been open to talks. But the government is putting politics before reason, and their continued threat to impose a contract that junior doctors have roundly rejected leaves us with no option," the BMA said in a statement.
There are more than 50,000 junior doctors in England and the term covers those who are fresh out of medical school through to others who have a decade of experience behind them.
Talks between them and the government, hosted by UK's conciliation service ACAS, broke down at the end of January.
UK health secretary Jeremy Hunt, leading the contract negotiations for the government, told the House of Commons yesterday: "The only reason we do not have a solution on the junior doctors is the BMA saying in December that it would negotiate on the one outstanding issue - pay on Saturdays - but last month refusing to negotiate.
"If the BMA is prepared to negotiate and be flexible on that, so are we."
Ministers have repeatedly said that they reserve the right to impose the new contract should a deal fail to be reached.
But junior doctors have indicated they may be forced to resign if a new contract is imposed on them without an agreement on weekend pay.
The BMA is understood to have discussed a proposal that would reduce the size of the basic pay rise on offer for doctors, if premium pay rates on Saturdays are retained.
