Junior doctor strikes: patients will suffer, GMC warns

The General Medical Council (GMC), the body which regulates the medical profession, has warned that patients are likely to suffer if junior doctors pursue their decision to hold a series of five consecutive day strikes.

Junior doctors are taking industrial action in opposition to a new contract which is being imposed from October, which they argue would be unsafe for staff. The body highlighted that the scale of the action, and the fact it has been planned at such short notice, could not be justified.

The news comes ahead of the first of four five-day walkouts, due to take place from 12-16 September. Further walkouts are set to take place 5-11 Oct (with weekends covered), 24-28 November and 5-9 December.

In an interview with the BBC, Professor Terrence Stephenson, chair of the GMC, commented: "The idea that you can take a third of the workforce out of a busy emergency service for five days and have no consequences seems to me unlikely.

"We are quite clear in our guidance that every single individual doctor most put their patients first. And we make it clear that they are personally accountable for their actions and must be able to justify what they did afterwards if allegations our made against them."

The caution comes after senior doctors have urged the government and junior doctors to restart negotiations to avoid the strikes.