JUNIOR doctors across Dorset go on strike today over pay and working conditions.

Trade union the British Medical Association (BMA) announced the nationwide strikes last month after negotiations with the Department of Health over its planned new contract broke down. The Government wants the contract in place by August this year.

Junior doctors - any NHS doctor who is not yet a GP or consultant - will picket outside Royal Bournemouth and Poole hospitals from 8am tomorrow, and at 11am many will travel to a 'Wessex-wide' joint doctors protest in West Quay, Southampton.

Staff from Poole Hospital will hold a 'Meet the Doctors' event to make their case to the public outside the Dolphin Centre from 12pm.

Planned procedures and operations have been cancelled and rescheduled by trusts around the county, although emergency care will be unaffected by the strike, which will last until 8am on Wednesday.

Poole BMA has released a statement saying: "This contract will put patients at risk by asking staff that are already at breaking point to work harder for less pay.

"Those most affected will be those in frontline specialities like emergency medicine and general practice. These specialities are already facing a recruitment crisis.

"The new contract also penalises those who take time out of training to undertake medical research or have a family.

"Junior doctors do not want to strike but feel betrayed by a Government who have consistently failed to listen to their concerns.

"An unprecedented 98 per cent of junior doctors have voted for industrial action on a 76 per cent turnout.

"Junior doctors are calling on the Government to enter meaningful negotiations to end industrial action and ensure a safe contract for the future of the NHS."

Martyn Webster, manager at watchdog Healthwatch Dorset, said the strikes would harm patients.

“The last thing our hard-pressed NHS needs at the moment is a doctors’ strike," he said.

"Every doctor is taught at the beginning of their training that their guiding principle should be 'do no harm'.

"But it’s patients who are going to bear the brunt of this strike - with many being left in pain as operations and appointments they’ve already waited too long for are cancelled."

However, he expressed some support for the BMA's arguments.

"It’s not in patients’ interests if they find themselves being treated by exhausted doctors who are having to work dangerously long hours without breaks," he said.

"All sides need urgently to find a resolution to this dispute - a resolution that is in the best interests of patients. And they shouldn’t leave the negotiating table until they’ve found it."

The story so far:

Contract negotiations between the NHS and the BMA first broke down in October 2014.

An independent group was called in to conduct a review and make recommendations which the Government claims to have taken into consideration when presenting its 'new offer' in November last year.

The BMA voted overwhelmingly for strikes in December, but the planned action was called off at the last minute. Many procedures had to be rescheduled.

However, despite talks with conciliation service ACAS, the BMA and Government have yet to reach an agreement and the strikes have been reinstated. After tomorrow, further action is planned with a 48 hour strike starting at 8am on January 26, and a full walkout with no emergency care provided between 8am and 5pm on February 10.

The areas of dispute:

Pay increase

What the Government says: The new contract will see juniors receive an 11 per cent pay rise on average, with pay typically rising from a starting salary of £25,500 to £55,000 over a ten year training period. No doctor will be paid less than they currently earn after the transition to the new contract.

Juniors will receive pay increases on completing training or taking on new responsibilities rather than annually as at present, where doctors can earn more than those working in higher levels of responsibility.

What the BMA says: Annual pay rises reflect experience gained by doctors in their everyday work, and the new plans will penalise those who take time out of training for maternity leave or to work part time. It may put people off entering the profession in the first place.

The new contract will discourage those in training from pursuing important academic research, such as working towards a PhD, and those who decide to train in a new speciality will see their pay drop despite their added experience from previous training.

Working hours - pay 

What the Government says: Doctors will be paid time-and-a-half for work undertaken between 10pm and 7am on any day of the week, and time-and-a-third for work between 7-10pm on Saturdays and 7am to 10pm on Sundays.

Overtime, work outside the 40 hours standard, will be paid at the basic pay rate.

What the BMA says: Evenings and weekends are "precious opportunities" to spend time with friends and family and it is unfair that junior doctors are being expected to work these same unsocial hours but at a lower rate of pay.

They may end up working an unfair proportion of evening and weekend shifts as they would be cheaper to employ for this purpose than consultants.

Doctors should be paid extra for overtime.

Working hours - safety 

What the Government says: The new contract will reduce the number of doctors working unsafe hours by imposing stricter working time limits and removing financial incentives for overworking, and will further develop plans for a 'seven day NHS'.

Doctors will not have to work more than 48 hours on average a week, more than 72 hours in any consecutive seven day period, any shift longer than 13 hours except on call, more than four consecutive night shifts or five consecutive long day shifts.

There will be a "mutual contractual obligation" on employers and trainees to respect working time limits set out by the Working Time Regulations.

There will be "serious consequences" for trusts and their boards which breach safe staffing requirements, including the risk of training programmes being withdrawn.

A 'guardian of safe working' will be appointed at each trust to ensure compliance.

What the BMA says: Currently NHS employers face large fines for overworking doctors, which is an effective deterrent, but there are no plans to continue this in the new contract.

The Working Time Regulations don't provide an adequate level of protection for doctors and patients, and could mean a doctor working an 11 hour shift with only one 20 minute break.

Appointments to the 'guardian' role should be made jointly by trusts and the BMA.