'I'm an NHS doctor - this is why junior doctors are striking today... and consultants could follow them'

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. Dr Narayanan insists junior doctors are 'not unreasonable' and there is a deal to be done - but it isn't close, despite some other health unions reaching agreements this year.

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He told the Manchester Evening News: "There has been no progress in talks so far. Junior doctors have just had enough, really, of being taken for granted."

Dr Narayanan says 'no direct negotiations' have taken place between his union and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) over pay, and while a previous offer put forward to junior doctors included other benefits, it did not address the demand for higher pay. Dr Narayanan believes the demand of a 35% increase 'does not have to be addressed in one go', and there is a deal to be reached that could see pay increase over a period of time.