UK Junior Doctors set to Strike

Junior doctors in the United Kingdom could be holding the first ever mass strike in 40 years if the government cannot appease the doctors working under the state-funded National Heath Service (NHS).

The junior doctors, who are doctors in training, threatened on Monday after sitting down with the Department of Health and the NHS, that they will be carrying out a 24-hour strike next week on January 12, which would be followed by two 48-hour strikes if nothing gets settled.

The first two strikes would affect non-emergency care and planned surgical operations. By the third strike, scheduled for February, the doctors will be refusing care in all situations, which include emergencies. About 98 percent of junior doctors have stated that they will be participating.

"In order for them (the strikes) to be called off, the government would have to recognize the deeply held concerns of junior doctors and be able to go rather further than it has been able to push itself over Christmas," Mark Porter, the BMA chairman said to BBC Radio reported by Reuters.

There were talks about a strike prior to Christmas. However, the strike was pushed back to allow for more discussions between the doctor's union, the British Medical Association (BMA) and the state.

The doctors are upset over the new contract proposal presented by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt. The main issue that the doctors have with the new employment contract is that it does not protect them from working extremely long hours that could potentially be harmful. The government has argued that the new contract ensures that all patients can get a high level of care throughout the week.

The government added that during Mondays discussions, it proposed adding "Guardians" who will be in charge of ensuring that doctors' working conditions, which includes hours, are not abused. The government stated that the BMA read the proposal and threatened to strike immediately after without having a discussion.

"Our absolute priority is patient safety and making sure that the NHS delivers high-quality care 7 days a week - and we know that's what doctors want too, so it is extremely disappointing that the BMA have chosen to take industrial action which helps no-one," Hunt said in a statement.

Hunt stated that ACAS, which is a mediation service, will come in and try to negotiate with the BMS and doctors.

The last time that junior doctors held a strike was in 1975. At that time, the doctors were upset over not getting paid for work that was done outside of the week's 40 hours.