VIDEO: Junior doctors strike at Chesterfield Royal
Around 30 doctors and their supporters were on the picket line at 10am, cheering as supportive motorists beeped their horns.
The doctors won’t work between the hours of 8am and 5pm today and tomorrow - with hospitals having to cancel many appointments and draft in additional cover as a result.
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Hide AdThe strike is in protest at the imposition of a new contract by the government which aims to create a so-called ‘seven-day NHS’.
Junior doctor, Holly O’Nione, 25, said: “There are so many different things this strike is about.
“It is not just about the minutiae of contract details or pay like Jeremy Hunt would have you believe - it is about whether we can provide a safe NHS.
“You have 54,000 junior doctors standing up to the government and saying you cannot impose this contract because we are worried about the future of it.”
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Hide AdPatient, Jennifer Acons, 45, who was there for an outpatient appointment, backed the doctors’ actions.
She said: “I absolutely support them. My appointment is going ahead as planned but I understand it must be frustrating for people who have cancellations.
“However, if it is for patient safety then that is the greater good.”