Hot topics – Junior Doctor Strikes Explained

For six days at the height of summer, the NHS will feel the absence of up to 50,000 junior doctors. In corridors already echoing with the strain of rota gaps and delayed care, operations will be rescheduled, clinics cancelled, and wards stretched to their limits. At the heart of the walkout is a dispute not just over pounds and percentages, but over the future shape of the profession itself: whether the UK can retain its young medics, protect their wellbeing, and preserve the safety of the patients they serve.