Doctor strike: Lives WILL be saved if we get fairer contracts
31-year-old Joe Mackenzie says lives may have already been lost as doctors struggle to cope with the workload.
The third junior doctor strikes get underway this morning, as one Tyneside doctor warns lives could be lost under proposed contracts.
From 8am this morning junior doctors across the region will start a 48 hour walkout, the third strike since January.
Another two strikes are planned for April.
It's as junior doctors continue to clash with the government over contracts.
It's thought more than 5000 operations have been cancelled across the England as a result of the strike.
Metro have been speaking to one junior doctor who has real concerns about the safety of patients under the current system.
31-year-old Joe Mackenzie works in a North Tyneside hospital and believes some patients may have already lost their lives as a result of doctor stress.
He said: "Services are stressed to the limit every year due to decisions ultimately made by the government regarding funding.
"We see this day in and day out.
"Of course people have come to harm from the pressure that everybody in the NHS is under.
"If you do four 13-hour night shifts in a row and then you're expected to be back in in the morning the next day, you know you're not going to be able to make decisions as quickly or as correctly as you ordinarily would be.
"If you make a mistake and somebody dies, you've got that on your conscience for the rest of your life."
The government announced last month that they're planning on changing the contracts without further negotiation.