Thousands of UK doctors walk off the job in pay dispute

The British National Heath Service Singers, who are either doctors or nurses, perform a protest song in support of junior doctors outside Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children, as a 24 hour junior doctor strike starts in London, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016. Thousands of junior doctors have walked off the job in England in a dispute over pay and working conditions - the first such strike in 40 years. Some 50,000 junior doctors - who represent a third of the medical workforce - are on strike for 24 hours amid government plans to change pay and work schedules. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) The British National Heath Service Singers, who are either doctors or nurses, perform a protest song in support of junior doctors outside Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children, as a 24 hour junior doctor strike starts in London, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016. Thousands of junior doctors have walked off the job in England in a dispute over pay and working conditions - the first such strike in 40 years. Some 50,000 junior doctors - who represent a third of the medical workforce - are on strike for 24 hours amid government plans to change pay and work schedules. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

By Associated Press January 12, 2016 2 min read

LONDON (AP) – Thousands of junior doctors walked off the job Tuesday in England in a dispute over pay and working conditions – the first such strike in 40 years.

Some 50,000 junior doctors -those who are training and have between one and 10 years of experience – were on strike for 24 hours protesting government plans to change pay and work schedules.

The striking doctors argue patients will be put at risk by the government’s policies, while the government says the National Health Service needs more flexibility to deliver services on weekends.

The strike has forced cancellation of some 4,000 operations and outpatient procedures.

Prime Minister David Cameron pleaded with doctors on Monday to call off the action, but officials were notably silent Tuesday as protests unfolded across England. The health service is considered a treasured institution here and enjoys widespread public support despite its many problems.