Doctors direct chants at Streeting as walkout begins

Resident doctors claimed there is a sense that “the system is breaking” as they started a five-day strike in England due to an ongoing row over jobs and pay.

- DAN HAYGARTH

Doctors took to picket lines across the country yesterday morning as the British Medical Association (BMA) called for a “genuinely long-term plan” to raise pay for doctors, addressing years of below-inflation rises. Health secretary Wes Streeting said the government had done “everything we could” to avoid the strike, including holding eleventh-hour talks with BMA officials on Tuesday, where its members rejected a last-minute offer.

Mr Streeting said health officials are doing all they can to minimise the impact of the strike, but warned patients will face disruption as the walkout comes at the “worst time” for the NHS, as hospitals are dealing with rising flu cases and other winter illnesses. At St Thomas’ Hospital in London, a number of resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, formed a picket line and were supported by passing drivers on Westminster Bridge Road who beeped their horns in solidarity.