The first day of the Junior Doctors strike over a junior contract that is not safe for patients and not fair for doctors.

Sadly, I am in favour of the #NHS #JuniorDoctors #NotSafeNotFair #JuniorContract strike. I have worked under a system where the safeguards to protect working hours that Jeremy Hunt wants to remove didn't exist. Back then, that meant that the hospitals I worked in then ignored the advice on safe hours. I wouldn't want my loved ones to be treated by me during the times that I was so tired I fell asleep taking to a patient or couldn't remember how or why I had treated a patient a certain way come the consultant ward round in the morning.

The thing is that loads of doctors, this being GP's, consultants and junior doctors have already left the UK for more money for less work abroad. Two of my social media friends are there, along with the daughter of Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston, doing just that. The junior doctors do not want to strike, but like nurses and others in the NHS, market forces will drive many away if we do not value them. Being a doctor means not seeing your family as much as others and being in a profession with high rates of divorce, alcoholism and suicide.

These changes, like with the proposed changes to the #StudentNurses #NHSbursary will harm safe staffing in YOUR NHS. Personally if the NHS goes tits up, I will be better off. I have a job and GP's like me are increasingly harder to recruit which means I can always give up my job and work as a locum for less work, less stress and more money. But the changes that are proposed will harm most of you as you have no choice.

So remember today that these Junior Doctors are not striking for more pay, or even less hours but to stop hours being increased and pay being cut for those working the most antisocial hours. And they would rather have been working today to help people instead of being on strike.