East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire junior doctors' fifth strike in pay row

Junior doctors in Grimsby joined the national strike action in row over pay earlier this year

Junior doctors across East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire are taking part in a four-day national strike in a dispute over pay.

The walkout - the fifth in six months - started at 07:00 BST on Friday and will end at 07:00 on Tuesday.

The British Medical Association (BMA) has asked for a 35% pay rise to make up for 15 years of below-inflation rises.

But the government is giving them 6% this year plus £1,250, bringing the increase to nearly 9% on average.

Hospitals bosses have warned the strike would lead to disruption, with particular concern that it coincided with the peak summer holiday season.

However, they said plans were in place to minimise the disruption to patients.

The British Medical Association is calling for junior doctors to get a 35% pay rise

Prof Makani Purva, Chief Medical Officer for Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "Staff groups including our ACPs, specialist nurses and consultants have all stepped up to help cover the absence of junior doctor colleagues previously, but we know a fair number of those people will also be taking some well-earned leave and so this makes it even harder for us to operate 'business as usual'."

She said some routine appointments and procedures were "once again, having to be postponed" and apologised to those affected.

"Our focus must be on providing safe services first and foremost, so we will be concentrating on ensuring we can deliver the essential services safely."

The NHS said to date about 778,000 hospital appointments across the NHS had been affected by previous strikes, with up to 20,000 staff off per day.

Concerns have been mounting over the impact of the latest action after a High Court ruling which means the NHS cannot seek support from agency staff, as was the case during previous strikes.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust said the strike would have a "significant impact" on its workforce and it had also cancelled some non-urgent appointments and operations as a result.

A spokesperson said cancelled appointments and operations would be re-booked "as soon as possible".

The Trust said its emergency departments, maternity and antenatal services would remain open.

Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust said it too had cancelled some routine procedures and appointments.

In a statement it said: "Regardless of any strike action taking place, it is really important that patients who need urgent medical care continue to come forward as normal, especially in emergency and life-threatening cases - when someone is seriously ill or injured, or their life is at risk."

The Department of Health and Social Care said that the pay rise given to junior doctors was "fair and reasonable" and "above what most in the public and private sectors are receiving".