Junior doctors five-day strike begins

Junior doctors on the picket line at Derriford Hospital on Thursday morning

A five-day junior doctor strike has begun in Devon and Cornwall

NHS bodies have given advice to residents and holiday-makers on accessing health services.

The strike, which began on Thursday, is the longest junior doctor strike to date in a dispute over pay.

Ministers say the government's 5% pay offer is "fair and reasonable".

Dr Becky Marsh, an anaesthetic registrar at the Royal Cornwall Hospital Truro, said she was on the picket line at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth because she believed full pay restoration was the answer to the future of the NHS.

"The contracts and conditions that we have at the moment are just not tenable for the future," she said.

The junior doctor strike is set to be followed by the first walk-out by consultants in more than a decade starting on 20 July.

Radiographers are also set to be striking from 25 – 27 July as the NHS enters an eighth month of industrial action.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said a 35% pay demand from doctors was "unreasonable" and the strike would put patient safety at risk.

Strike action is said to have impacted approximately 600,000 hospital appointments across the NHS during this time, according to the NHS.

Dr Nigel Acheson, chief medical officer, NHS Devon, said: “The culmination of months of strikes, combined with the summer holiday season starting in the south west, means it could be really difficult on the frontline.”

People are advised they should still seek the care they need as they usually would – calling 999 in life threatening emergencies but using NHS 111 online for other health concerns.

Patients are also told to attend appointments as normal unless contacted by the NHS.