The Government is 'nowhere near' striking an agreement with junior doctors - and more senior colleagues could soon follow them on the picket line.
That's the message from Dr Naru Narayanan, an NHS consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist nurse, who is president of the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA).
Junior doctors who are members of the HCSA and the British Medical Association (BMA) will walk out for 72 hours from 7am today (June 14) until 7am on Saturday, following previous strike action earlier this year.
It comes after the latest breakdown in talks between unions and the Department for Health and Social Care over pay. Health Secretary Steve Barclay has previously slammed calls for a 35% pay increase as 'unreasonable' - but unions say that figure follows a 26.1% drop in junior doctors' pay since 2008 and comes amid soaring inflation over the past year.