Over 5,000 procedures and operations will be delayed for the next 48 hours as Junior Doctors go on strike over issues with pay.

This strike marks the fourth walkout by the British Medical Association over contracts that stop junior doctors claiming extra pay for day shifts on Saturdays in return for a basic pay rise. To date, the dispute has resulted in the cancellation of almost 25,000 procedures. 

The junior doctors have pledged to provide emergency care cover while industrial action is being carried out.

A junior GP who is striking, told Sky News that the new contract 'takes what we already have in a national recruitment crisis and turns that into a national disaster.'

He added:

"In so many areas, we struggle to recruit...what this does is actually undermine our ability to keep those staff and make those staff go into those areas."

Dr Johann Malawana from the British Medical Association said:

"We want a contract that is fair for all junior doctors - not one which the Government has admitted will disadvantage women - and ensures that they feel valued and motivated so that the NHS can retain the GPs and hospital doctors of the future."

In response, the Department of Health have called the strike "irresponsible and disproportionate". Further strikes are scheduled to take place on April 26 and 27.