Hospital doctors in England begin their longest strike action yet on Wednesday in a move that health bosses fear will pile pressure on services at the busiest time of year.
Junior doctors – those below consultant level – join picket lines from 0700 GMT to the same time on Saturday in a major escalation of their long-running pay dispute.
Six more days of industrial action are planned from January 3.
The strike comes at one of the busiest times of the year for the state-funded National Health Service (NHS), as it faces increased pressure from seasonal respiratory illnesses.
The strike has drawn criticsm from UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and hospital leaders who have described the lengthy walkout as their “worst fears realised”.
“We would encourage junior doctors to consider carefully the extremely significant impact striking at such a challenging time will have both on the NHS and for individual patients and to return to talks,” Sunak said on Tuesday.
The British Medical Association (BMA) announced the strike earlier this month after a breakdown in talks with the government.
The union said junior doctors have been offered a 3.0-percent rise on top of the average 8.8-percent increase they were given earlier this year.
