Junior doctors in England vote in favour of industrial action

The British Medical Association (BMA) has announced that junior doctors have voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking industrial action.

More than 76 percent of trainees took part in the ballot, with 99.4 percent voting yes to the question of whether they were prepared to take industrial action short of a strike, while 98 percent also endorsed strike action.

The results give the BMA a strong mandate to move ahead with plans for industrial action, including full walkouts. The association has approached ACAS to offer conciliatory talks with health secretary Jeremy Hunt and NHS Employers.

BMA council chair Mark Porter said: "It is the government's adamant insistence on imposing a contract that is unsafe for patients in the future, and unfair for doctors now and in the future, that has brought us to this point."

The planned action include the restriction of services to emergency care only on December 1st and 2nd, followed by full walk-outs on December 8th and 16th.

According to the BMA, it has repeatedly stated what needs to change in the proposed contract, but the government has refused to supply the requested assurances.