Junior doctors' five-day strike begins

Junior doctors make up half the doctor workforce in the NHS

People across the South East of England are being urged to support NHS services and reminded how to get help as junior doctors begin five days of industrial action in their long-running pay dispute.

The strike by British Medical Association (BMA) members begins at 07:00 BST on Thursday and is due to end at the same time on 2 July.

NHS England said services would be under significant pressure and urged the public to use them responsibly.

Dr Andrew Hodson, interim chief medical officer at NHS Sussex, said prolonged periods of industrial action were “causes for concern".

He added: “Local people can support us in this by only visiting hospital or calling 999 in genuine, life-threatening emergencies and by seeking help for minor illnesses and injuries from the many other services that will be open as usual during the industrial action.”

Healthcare leaders across Kent, Sussex and Surrey said they were working to minimise disruption for patients and were calling on the public to show the same level of support that was seen during previous rounds of industrial action.

However, planned hospital care, including operations and appointments, will face major disruption, with many patients facing cancellations.

The BMA wants a 35% rise to compensate for what it said were 15 years of below-inflation pay awards.

The government has called the demands unreasonable.

Dr Nicholas Pitto, a junior doctor and BMA representative for Kent, said they'd had "good public support so far".

But he said that no doctor had "gone on strike willingly", adding: "We are not willing to take any more erosions to our pay."