A huge 98 per cent of the 76 per cent turnout of junior doctors voted last week for strike action over changes to their pay and working hours. However, many have said they would prefer to negotiate than take action, but only if the Health Secretary is prepared to meet them.

Following the ballot, junior doctors will provide emergency care for 24 hours from 8am on Tuesday 1 December. This will be followed by a full walkout from 8am to 5pm on Tuesday 8 December and another at the same time on Wednesday 16 December.

However, more than 600 junior doctors have subsequently signed a letter to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt begging him to enter into talks they have instigated at the mediation service Acas to solve the dispute. They said they had voted for strike action “with a very heavy heart”. The letter adds that the doctors “are desperate” to avoid the action, as it goes against their very ethos.

A Department of Health (DH) spokesperson said that Mr Hunt was not ruling out conciliation but added that the process should follow “meaningful talks”. However, in the first instance, the DH wants the British Medical Association (BMA) to come back to the negotiating table.

The BMA has agreed that the action is “wholly avoidable” and says that it is keen to get back around the negotiating table. However, the organisation also wants to ensure that the junior doctors get a contract that is safe for patients, contains the necessary contractual safeguards to prevent them from being overworked and properly recognises evening and weekend work.

Meanwhile, Mr Hunt has replied that he has the backing of the Prime Minister and Chancellor to ‘face down’ the strike action and has accused the BMA of turning the contract issue into “an ideological dispute”.