SENIOR medics in South Lakeland and north Lancashire have come out in force to support junior doctors planning to strike over a contract row.

Junior doctors voted last week to stage walkouts across the country on Tuesday and also December 8 and 16.

Ninety-eight per cent of junior doctors voted to take strike action in a ballot by the British Medical Association, following a long running wrangle with health secretary Jeremy Hunt.

BMA council member and Carnforth GP Dr David Wrigley has written an open letter supporting the strikes signed by 70 senior doctors from University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust over three days.

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Dr Wrigley, who has been a GP at the Ash Trees Surgery for 15 years, said the strikes followed years of negotiations between doctors and the government over the terms of a new contract.

The strikes were not about pay but concerns around patient safety, he said.

He said one of the main issues with the proposed contract was the extension of hours during which junior doctors would receive basic pay.

This would see them receiving basic pay from 7am to 10pm on weekdays - previously they began receiving a higher rate after 7pm - and 7am to 7pm on Saturdays.

The government had not given any reassurances about a cap on the number of hours doctors would be able to work in a week and this could endanger patient safety, Dr Wrigley said.

It could also cause more doctors to look for work overseas, further reducing their numbers and increasing pressure on those that remained.

“The NHS is struggling already because of all the cuts and doctors don’t have time for breaks, sometimes not even toilet breaks,” said Dr Wrigley.

He said even though the strikes would lead to operations and appointments being postponed, the new contract would have a worse effect on patients in the long term.

“We are trying to protect the service and the NHS,” he said.