GREAT Western Hospital faces losing a critical number of junior doctors next month after a nationwide ballot voted for strike action.

For three days in December, junior doctors will walk out en-masse from GP surgeries, clinics and hospitals after 98 percent of doctors voted to strike in protest at the Department of Health’s proposed pay cuts and much longer working hours.

A ballot held by the British Medical Association saw 98 percent vote in favour of strike action with 99 percent calling for action short of a strike.

The first walk out will take place on December 1 with junior doctors providing emergency care only.

However, this will be followed by two complete strikes on December 8 and 16 where junior doctors across the town will walk out from 8am to 5pm, leaving emergency care in the hands of senior medical professionals.

Great Western Hospital currently employs 256 junior medics, of which 139 are BMA members. It will see an acute loss of its workforce with scheduled procedures such as hip replacements, knee operations and routine clinics set to encounter interruption and delays.

Oonagh Fitzgerald, HR director at Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said there was a contingency plan in place to ensure minimal disruption to patient services.

“While this is a national dispute with the government, some of our junior doctors, will be taking part and we are planning services accordingly. This may mean we have to postpone some appointments and routine operations, so that we can prioritise patients needing emergency care and other patients needing urgent care, such as cancer patients.

“Patients whose appointments are affected will be contacted in advance and given another date at the earliest opportunity.

Patients should attend hospital as planned unless they are contacted, and patients needing emergency treatment and women in labour can attend as normal.

The junior doctor’s protest began when the Department of Health announced which could cut junior doctors pay by 40 percent and make them work much longer hours. Extra evening and Saturday pay will be lost as a result.

The contract, which will come into force next summer will see junior doctors normal working week changed to include Saturday and stretch until 10pm every weeknight except Sunday.

Under Mr Hunt’s concessions, the Saturday working hours have been curbed from 7am to 7pm.

Esteemed town medic Dr Peter Swinyard, who works at Toothill’s Phoenix Surgery, said the decision to strike for the first time in 40 years was not a surprise to him.

“It is very disappointing and very sad that it has come to this. This is our second winter of discontent, the signs are all around us,” he said.

“The sheer pig-headedness of the government and Jeremy Hunt is astonishing and it’s overwhelmingly sad that such a moderate profession has been pushed to the limit where this is their only option.”

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt said he hoped junior doctors would reconsider strike action that would put patients at risk.

“It is regrettable that junior doctors have voted for industrial action which will put patients at risk and see operations cancelled or delayed. We want to ensure that patients have the same quality of care across the week, and have put forward a generous offer that increases basic pay by 11 per cent and reduces doctors’ hours. We hope that junior doctors will consider the impact this action – especially the withdrawal of emergency care – will have on patients and reconsider.”