Thousands of resident doctors have begun a five-day strike in pursuit of a further 29 per cent pay rise today after talks with the Government collapsed over pay.
Resident doctors - formerly known as junion doctors - have taken to picket lines across England from 7am in a move which is expected to disrupt patient care.
Members of the public have been urged to come forward for NHS care during the walkout, and are being asked to attend appointments unless told they are cancelled.
GP surgeries will open as usual and urgent care and A&E will continue to be available, alongside NHS 111, NHS England said. It comes after Sir Keir Starmer made a last-minute appeal to resident doctors, saying the strikes would 'cause real damage'.
'The route the BMA Resident Doctors Committee have chosen will mean everyone loses,' he wrote in The Times. 'My appeal to resident doctors is this: do not follow the BMA leadership down this damaging road. Our NHS and your patients need you.'
