REGARDING the junior doctor strikes.
It is a very sad day when those in public service are pushed to take action that none of them ever imagined that they would have to do, in order to safeguard the service that they provide for vulnerable people.
To make out that this dispute is only about pay is to denigrate and devalue the service that the junior doctors provide.
Jeremy Hunt stated on BBC Today that it was about keeping promises in the manifesto for a seven-day service.
To make already overstretched and stressed doctors work more hours, without providing the resources for all the other staff necessary to provide for a sevenday service, will not improve the NHS but make it virtually unworkable.
This is not about patient safety either but a cynical attempt to weaken the NHS and open the door for more privatisation.
Those who care deeply about the NHS need to take action to support the doctors and let the government know that it is taking this political battle too far.
Sally Mclellan, Awbridge
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