"If we keep going like this, we'll have no doctors left."

That is the stark message from junior doctors on the picket line in Buckinghamshire on the first day of the four-day industrial 

Speaking to the Bucks Free Press, one warned that the NHS is facing an exodus of doctors unless conditions are improved. 

They said: “We just want to feel valued and to attract people back as well as to improve staffing levels and improve patient safety. If we keep going like this, we’ll have no doctors left.

“It’s about improving the NHS and improving patients’ safety, improving worker retention and making the workers feel valued again.”

Their comments come as junior doctors have gone on strike at hospitals across the county with Buckinghamshire Healthcare Trust warning the public of disruption this week and cancelled operations due to reduced staffing levels.  

When the Bucks Free Press visited Wycombe Hospital today, there was no visible picket line while a small number of doctors had gathered outside Stoke Mandeville hospital. 

One picketer said the most pressing issues facing the NHS are staffing shortages and unsafe working conditions. 

The current strike action from junior doctors is in reponse to a fall in NHS wages, with workers experiencing cuts of over 25 per cent to their salaries since 2008/9, according to the British Medical Association. 

Bucks Free Press:

The BMA said the fall in wages has led to poor worker recruitment and retention and has consequently put pressue on existing staff to deliver a high quality of care.

Junior doctors, who make up around half of all NHS doctors, will be striking for a four-day period until April 14, demanding a 35 per cent pay rise which they say will mitigate 15 years of cuts.

However, a spokesperson for Downing Street told The Guardian this morning that the proposed increase was "unreasonable and not affordable for the British taxpayer". 

While doctor Dr Hillary Jones warned the strikes would cause "people to die" in an interview on Good Morning Britain. 

Bucks Free Press:

Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay, said: "It is extremely disappointing the BMA has called strike action for four consecutive days.

"I hoped to begin formal pay negotiations with the BMA last month but its demand for a 35% pay rise is unreasonable – it would result in some junior doctors receiving a pay rise of over £20,000.

"People should attend appointments unless told otherwise by the NHS, continue to call 999 in a life-threatening emergency and use NHS 111 online services for non-urgent health needs.”