JUNIOR doctors will be on strike again from tomorrow morning in south Devon as part of their ongoing dispute over pay and conditions. 

Hospital appointments will be affected during the four day walkout, the fifth strike by junior doctors. 

The NHS is bracing itself for further disruption and Torbay Hospital has issued advice to patients when the walkout begins at 7am tomorrow. 

The action will run until 7am on Tuesday August 15. 

The British Medical Association’s junior doctors committee voted in July to stage this month’s four days of action in a bid to put more pressure on the Government. 

The BMA says it wants the government to return to the negotiating table and help negotiate a pay rise for junior doctors. 

It said junior doctors have lost more than a quarter of their pay in 15 years as a result of salaries not keeping up with inflation.

The junior doctors’ strike comes ahead of more planned strikes by senior consultants, expected in September. 

A spokesman for Torbay and South Devon NHS Trust said: ‘Thank you for continuing to support your NHS.

‘We are working hard to minimise disruption to our services, and have measures in place to ensure the safety and welfare of our patients and our staff. ‘Please attend your appointments unless we have contacted you to cancel or re-arrange.’

People are asked only to call 999 or visit the accident and emergency department if it is ife-threatening or a critical condition. 

Newton Abbot’s urgent treatment centre will be open as normal.

Following a recent ruling by the High Court, employers can no longer use agency staff to fill in for striking workers during industrial action, which means some of the cover arrangements used during previous strikes will not be possible. 

However, the ruling does not apply to a hospital’s own ‘bank’ staff.

To date, nationally about 778,000 hospital appointments across the NHS have been disrupted due to strikes, with over 458,000 staff shifts interrupted.