Junior Doctors Stage 24-Hour Walkout
They'll go on strike from 8 o'clock this morning in a dispute with the government over contract changes.
Junior doctors from across the country - including Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire - will stage a 24-hour walkout today.
It's the first of three stike actions planned in a government dispute over contract changes which could see junior doctors having their pay cut by up to 30% and forced to work more unsociable hours.
Thousands will walk out at 8 o clock this morning with emergency care only being provided by them for the day.
Retired consultants will be drafted in to help provide cover for the day.
Matthew Tuck is a junior doctor in Hull and is taking part in today's industrial action. He says they don't feel like they have any other option but to strike:
"The health secretary has said that no matter what happens in his mind, he's forcing a contract upon us next August and we feel that this contract is fundamentally unsafe for our patients and unsafe for us as doctors.
"Jeremy Hunt is proposing to remove some very vital safeguards that prevent us from working unsafe, unsociable hours that penalise the trust that do overwork doctors and we know that tired doctors make mistakes and we don't want to be put in that position where the risk to our patients go up because of the hours we work.
"None of us have taken the action lightly and our union released the dates of the action as early on as they could in order to help the hospitals prepare in terms of staffing and some of our senior colleagues who aren't affected by the contract changes will be there like every other day of the year. In the long term we are taking this action for the interest of patient safety because we feel that they are at risk if this contract is put in place.
"For me personally and other junior doctors that I know, the answer is really simple - we just want a negtiation that is fair and on an even playing field in the sense that Mr Hunt has to drop the threat to impose this contract upon us regardless of what happens in negotiation. There can't possibly be a negotiation where one side is holding all the cards."
People here are being told that plans have been put in place to deal with today's industrial action and cover in place for all emergency care.
Patients due to attend appointments today are also being informed to continue with their appointment as normal, unless they've been told otherwise.
Mr Kevin Phillips, Chief Medical Officer at Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust says:
“Locally, Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust recognises the right of doctors to voice their opinions through industrial action. We are working closely with all parties to ensure contingency plans are in place that enable the continued provision of a high quality and safe service to patients during this period of industrial action.
“Cover will remain in place for all emergency patients, and a number of clinics and operations will continue as planned. However, a number of patients due to attend for routine operations or appointments may be rescheduled where it is clinically safe to do so. We will contact any affected patients as soon as possible.”
From 8am there will be a picket line at the main entrance to Hull Royal Infirmary before they hold a "Meet the Doctors" event in the city centre in the afternoon, engaging with the general public about the current dispute.