A MEDICAL director for Essex has said “exhausted” junior doctors are taking strike action over the next four days so they can improve care standards for patients.

Hundreds of operations are likely to be cancelled across the East Suffolk and North Essex Trust (ESNEFT) as a result of the walk-out, which begins at 7am on Friday and will last until 7am on Tuesday.

Junior doctors are demanding a pay increase of 35 per cent so their real-term pay can return to 2008 levels, when inflation levels were at 3.5 per cent, and interest rates were at two per cent.

The most recent figures from the Bank of England show the current rate of inflation is 7.9 per cent and interest rates are at 5.25 per cent, and the British Medical Association – the union representing junior doctors – argues other cost of living pressures are driving doctors out of the public sector.

With Prime Minister Rishi Sunak saying a six per cent pay rise is the government’s final offer, strikes are set to hit hundreds of hospitals across Britain, including Colchester, from Friday.

The medical director at the NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB), Andrew Kelso, has said the strike action being taken by junior doctors is to improve patient care.

He said: "I want all of our colleagues to know that we care about them all and respect their views.

"Whether they are on the picket line this weekend or at work, their action is to ultimately provide the best care to their patients.

"I want to ensure we have a smooth passage through next weekend’s industrial action, not only from an operational clinical perspective, but to also ensure all of our system staff are well supported.

"Many of our colleagues also feel exhausted not only because this is a busy time of the year but also because there has been no respite during the past four summers because of the pandemic."

Members of the public have once again been asked to use health services appropriately in the coming days so care can be made available to those who need it the most.