North East junior doctors among thousands on mass walkout
There'll be picket lines outside hospitals across the North East from 8am, from when only emergency care will be provided.
Hundreds of North East junior doctors are joining the rest of the UK in a mass 24-hour walkout today.
From 8am this morning, picket lines will spring up outside the region's hospitals and only emergency care will be provided, similar to that on Christmas Day.
It's as talks between the British Medical Association and the goverment are reported to have come to a standstill over new proposed contracts.
They could see doctors working more unsociable hours and taking pay cuts of up to 30 per cent.
The government say doctors will actually see a pay increase of 11 per cent.
Prime Minister David Cameron urged the BMA to call off the strike, amid fears industrial action could affect the health of patients.
1400 inpatient operations and procedures have been cancelled ahead of the strike.
Dr Habiba Ali will provide emergency care at Newcastle RVI tomorrow and says it's about time a decision was made.
She said: "The fact that it's taking so long to get to come to any sort of common ground is really quite upsetting.
"It's very clear now that we're not being listened to and the government has their own agenda and they're going to push through what they think is right and it's very obviously not.
"This isn't about money for us...it's really not.
"It's about having a contract that makes it safe for doctors, not tired doctors, or doctors that are thinly spread across the ground."
98 per cent of BMA members voted in favour of strike action when they were balloted in autumn of last year.