WE have just experienced the first of the three planned days of industrial action by the junior doctors (junior doctors are all doctors below the status of consultant).

The dispute arises from the government’s stated intention that health services should be fully available on seven days a week and that would include general practice.

On first consideration, the reaction could well be ‘what a good idea’.

Further consideration reveals, however, that the government is planning to introduce these major changes without extra funding, thus the costs of the exercise would be clawed back by altering the way in which junior doctors are paid currently, most particularly by altering what is to be termed ‘out of hours working’.

The junior doctors’ case is that the changes would include a rise in working hours for doctors which could impact on the safety of patients and doctors alike as well as reducing their income.

It is the first time in 40 years that doctors have withdrawn their labour.

There are some significant aspects to the junior doctors’ action that are worth noting; there is already full seven-day provision in Accident and Emergency Departments and at this stage no action is being taken to affect A&E, the salaries of newly qualified doctors are, in many cases, below the average national wage and removing the agreed payments for out-of-hours working would constitute a reduction in earnings for some of those doctors and, significantly, the number of doctors leaving the NHS to work overseas is increasing year on year.

This action by doctors is having real impact; there is greater support for the doctors’ action than there is for the government’s position and therein lies one of the most important lessons for me.

The doctors are successful because they are indispensable – the government is not going to easily drive down their salaries and enforce poorer working conditions.

With other workers we have seen the introduction of zero hours working arrangements together with the loss of permanent contracts and, in the case of local government employees, actual job losses – more than 1,000 jobs went from the local authority in Shropshire alone.

The news is just released that the CCG is considering replacing Shropdoc with the 111 Emergency number – disastrous for patients.

Doctors remain one of the groups of true heroes. Let us support them fully.