Junior doctors in England are to stage the longest strike in NHS history at a time when experts say the service is at its “most stretched”
With the NHS under pressure from mounting Covid cases and other seasonal viruses, medics are to walk out for six days from Wednesday.
The industrial action, from 7am on Wednesday 3 January to 7am on Tuesday 9 January, marks a major escalation in the bitter row with the government over pay.
And it comes at one of the busiest times of the year for the NHS, raising fears over the service’s ability to keep patients safe.
Ministers are willing to engage in more talks to prevent the junior doctors from striking, Downing Street said on Tuesday.
“As the health and care secretary [Victoria Atkins] made clear, we are willing to have further discussions, but obviously the first thing to do is to stop striking,” Rishi Sunak’s official spokesperson said.
They added: “There will be a significant impact if [junior doctors] were to choose to go ahead with this strike.”
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