Junior doctors say they are 'burnt out' and at 'breaking point' as a three-day strike starts.
BBC NewsPicket lines have formed in Swindon, Bath, Bristol, Cheltenham and Gloucester.
The government said it "hugely values" the work of junior doctors but said the strike action was "disappointing".Cheltenham General's Emergency Department has become a nurse led minor injuries unit from 20:00 on Sunday to 08:00 on Thursday due to the strikes. Dr Tuck, at the Swindon picket line said: "We're walking out because we feel that the government has consistently eroded our pay over the last 14 years.
Dr Emma Coombe, a junior doctor at the Bristol Royal Infirmary and a rep with the BMA said: "It is ludicrous that junior doctor pay has been eroded for so long that we need a 35% rise to get us back up to the levels we were on in 2008. "But the fact is we've lost our pay, over 26% in real terms, so we're out here today to get our pay restored."Because the pay has been falling for so many years, so many people are leaving the workforce - either different careers or different countries - so there are actually so many gaps in the rota, that our training and our working conditions, as well as patient safety is being affected.
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