WE WOULD like to correct some misunderstandings regarding the imminent strike action of the junior doctors.

The strike is not about pay. It is about changes to hours and rotas which will compromise patient safety further.

More clinical hours cannot be found without additional staff and funding.

Doctors already work long hours to cover emergencies 24/7, spreading them more thinly to provide routine care at weekends can only make matters worse.

The Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt, refused to read the proposals put forward by the British Medical Association before the last strike action.

The proposal was cost-neutral and would have enabled all the changes Mr Hunt publicly states are his aims.

He chose to ignore that offer and has repeatedly refused to meet with junior doctors.

We are sorry that the dispute has reached this stage and some appointments may be postponed.

By comparison, last year in the UK, as a result of under-funding in the NHS, more than seven million appointments and operations were cancelled.

We still spend less per person on healthcare in the UK than most other major western countries.

The aim of the strike is not to harm patient care, and measures are in place to ensure emergency services will not be compromised.

Consultants, whose surveys have shown to be overwhelmingly in support of their junior colleagues, will cover emergency roles during the strikes, and ensure safe care.

To find out more about this industrial action, visit bma.org.uk.

Oliver Old Junior Doctors’ Representative, Gloucestershire Royal Hospital

Hannah Basson Secretary, Gloucester Area Health Sector Branch Unite and Keep Our NHS Public county liaison