Why are junior doctors striking – and when will it end?

After the government agreed to honour the pay recommendations for other NHS workers, Sean O’Grady examines why junior doctors are continuing with their planned five-day strike

Striking NHS junior doctors on the picket line outside Leicester Royal Infirmary in April (PA)

The junior doctors have embarked on an unprecedented five-day-long strike, though it is hardly the only industrial action to have hit the NHS lately, and more will take place in the coming months. It comes just as the government agreed to honour the independent pay bodies’ various recommendations on pay across the public sector, and Rishi Sunak indicated that, as a consequence, there would be no more talks on pay.

Who’s on strike?

Doctors in the NHS who are members of the British Medical Association (BMA), British Dental Association (BDA), and Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association are going on strike from 7am on Thursday 13 July to 7am on Tuesday 18 July – 120 hours in all. Consultants who are members of the BMA and BDA will also be striking – another unprecedented move – for 48-hours, from 7am on Thursday 20 July to 7am on Saturday 22 July. This action will also have an impact on the county’s hospitals and mental health services.