A JUNIOR doctor who provides cover in Hereford says he feels ‘utterly depressed’ by the situation which has led to the first accident and emergency walkout in the NHS’s 68-year history.

Dozens of junior doctors joined the picket line in Hereford this week, staging a full walk-out in relation to a dispute with the government over pay and terms and conditions of a new contract.

Wye Valley Trust, which provides health care in Herefordshire, said around 490 clinic appointments and 77 operations/procedures had to be postponed as a result of the strike which started on Tuesday and was due to end last night (Wednesday).

Essential care was provided by senior staff but the trust warned residents to use NHS services ‘wisely' during the industrial action, as delivery/maternity wards, urgent admissions and emergency departments were all affected.

Joannis Vamvakopoulos, 43, provides cover at Hereford County Hospital. He said: “Currently we can't really fully man a five-day care service and the government wants to stretch it to seven days without additional resources in terms of doctors and nurses. That’s where the big problem is. We call it ‘not safe, not fair’."

A secondary issue, he explained, is that while doctors' pay will result in an average pay rise of 13.5 per cent under the new contract, many, especially women, will actually be left worse off.

“The majority of my colleagues don’t really view the pay rise as the most important thing," he said. "The important thing is that we are already overworked.

"I’m feeling utterly depressed. No doctor wants to just walk out. The BMA have done all they can to make sure there’s adequate cover for emergency care.

"The point of the whole escalation is to actually have some impact. Not in terms of causing deaths but showing the strength of feeling."

Mr Vamvakopoulos, who wishes to see health secretary Jeremy Hunt removed from his post, has urged the government to define what is meant by a 'seven-day NHS' and find the resources to manage it.

Updating Parliament earlier this week, health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, said: "The NHS is busting a gut to keep the public safe. But we should not lose sight of the underlying reason for this dispute, namely this government’s determination to be the first country in the world to offer a proper patient-focused seven day health service."