Junior doctor strikes to take place at Banbury's Horton Hospital next week

The strikes are scheduled to take place from next Monday (March 13) at 06.59am until 06.59am on Thursday (March 16).

Due to the industrial action, some routine and non-urgent appointments and some elective surgery procedures across hospitals in Banbury and Oxford will be rescheduled.

Some appointments before and after the days of industrial action may also be affected, patients that are impacted are being contacted directly.

Sara Randall, the chief operating officer at Oxford University Hospitals, said: "We recognise and respect the right of our staff to take part in lawful industrial action, and have been working with our staff and union partners to ensure the safety of our patients and the wellbeing of our staff.

"We have plans in place to deal with changes to our services in the event of industrial action. As always, our priority is to continue to provide safe care for our patients, and anyone with a rescheduled appointment will be rebooked in for the soonest time possible. Thank you for your understanding."

In a statement released to the BMA website, the trade union and professional body for doctors said that they were frustrated and disappointed by the Health Secretary’s admission that he does not have the authority or the green light from Rishi Sunak to negotiate a pay deal with them.

Dr Rob Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi said: "It is beyond belief that the person in Government appointed to look after our health service and the staff in it has no power to put any kind of deal on the table.

"We went to today’s meeting with every intention of entering into negotiations with a Health Secretary who has known from day one of his tenure what was at stake—tens of thousands of junior doctors in England who are demoralised, exhausted, and vastly underpaid for the valuable work they do. Instead, he wanted to go over those details once more but did not or could not offer any kind of deal or even start negotiations. Mr Barclay said that mandate lay with the Prime Minister and the Chancellor, yet neither were at the meeting, so we are no further forwards.

"Rishi Sunak urgently needs to either give his Health Secretary the mandate to negotiate a settlement with us or come to the negotiating table himself. Actions speak louder than words, and if the Health Secretary and Prime Minister genuinely want to bring an end to the dispute, it is within their gift to do so. Put a realistic, reasonable offer on the table and let serious negotiations begin and if the deal is acceptable, strike action can be averted."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "Any deal needs to strike a balance between giving NHS staff a fair deal and delivering on our promise to halve inflation this year.

"In order for talks to start, all planned strike action must be called off with immediate effect."

If you require non-urgent medical help, then contact your local pharmacy, Minor Injuries Unit, or GP. If you are unsure where to get support, contact NHS 111, and they will direct you to the best place for the care you need.

NHS consultants are now due to ballot for industrial action from next month if the government refuses to fix issues raised with pay, pensions, and the pay review process.