JUNIOR doctors going on strike this morning are urging the government to re-open negotiations to stop further industrial action.

Thousands of junior doctors - including about 2,000 in the Thames Valley - will be on the picket lines for the fourth strike over the Government's decision to impose a new contract on them.

The row centres on Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt's decision to impose the contract on junior doctors to try to create a seven-day NHS.

But junior doctors believe the contract is unsafe staff and patient because it will spread already stretched resources more thinly.

BMA Oxfordshire junior doctor rep Nadia Randazzo said they apologised to the public for striking, but added the Government had left them no option.

She said: "It's all dependant on whether the Government lift their position on contracts.

"We are really sorry to pateints, but the Government has forced us into striking.

"We have a duty of care and service for our patients and when we see changes to that service we have to dispute that with our employers and the Government. 

"The Government have closed the door on negotiation, I don't see this ending anytime soon."

The medics will go on strike from 8am today for 48 hours of industrial action - although emergency and urgent care will still be provided at the county's hospitals.

But the British Medical Association (BMA) is urging the Department of Health to re-open discussions and end the dispute through talking.

BMA junior doctor committee chairman Dr Johann Malawana insisted that by imposing the contract on doctors and refusing to re-enter talks the government had left them no choice.

He said: "We deeply regret any disruption this action will cause to patients, but it is because we believe this contract would be bad for the delivery of patient care in the long term that we are taking this action.

"We want a contract that is fair for all junior doctors – not one of which the government has admitted will disadvantage women - and ensures that they feel valued and motivated so that the NHS can retain the GPs and hospital doctors of the future."

Dr Malawana warned the government risked alienating doctors by continuing to ignore their concerns.

He added: "If it continues to ignore junior doctors’ concerns, at a time when their morale is already at rock-bottom, doctors may vote with their feet which will clearly affect the long-term future of the NHS and the care it provides.

"Responsibility for industrial action now lies entirely with the government.

"They must start listening and resume negotiations on a properly funded junior doctor’s contract to protect the future of patient care and the NHS."

Today's strike will be followed by the first full withdrawal of junior doctors services - including emergency care - in NHS history from 8am to 5pm on Tuesday, April 26, and Wednesday, April 27.