Why are junior doctors striking?

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Junior doctors are about to embark on a four-day strike that is expected to put an immense strain on Britain’s ailing health service, with Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director for NHS England, predicting it will be “the most disruptive industrial action in NHS history”. Striking NHS junior doctors on the picket line outside the Maidstone Hospital in Kent Professor Sir Stephen said of the imminent chaos on Monday: “The NHS has been preparing extensively for the next set of strikes but managing additional pressure doesn’t get easier as time goes by – it gets much more difficult, not only due to the sheer number of appointments that need to be rescheduled, but also that they can take time to rearrange with multiple teams involved. UK health secretary Steve Barclay “It seems they are intent on maintaining a militant stance rather than working with the government and NHS management to meet the best interests of their members and of patients.” He continued: “A salary hike of this size would see some junior doctors receiving more than an extra £20,000 a year. But it is deeply disappointing that this industrial action has been timed by the British Medical Association Junior Doctors Committee to cause maximum disruption to both patients and other NHS staff.” Offering a rebuttal on BBC One’s Breakfast show on Sunday morning, Dr Mike Greenhalgh, deputy co-chair of the BMA’s Junior Doctors Committee, said: “It’s hard to negotiate when only one side is doing it and we’re not getting anything back from the government on that front.