JUNIOR doctors formed a picket line outside Basildon Hospital this morning as they joined thousands across the country in a dispute over pay.

Junior doctor members of the BMA working at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust (MSE) hospitals voted in favour of industrial action last week.

This morning, small picket lines formed outside Basildon Hospital and Broomfield Hospital – both run by MSE.

The 72-hour walkout, which began this morning, will see operations and appointments cancelled for thousands of patients across the country.

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The British Medical Association (BMA) is demanding a substantial pay rise for doctors, with its latest campaign saying junior medics could earn more per hour if they worked in Pret A Manger.

The BMA says junior doctors’ pay has fallen in real terms by 26 per cent since 2008/09 and reversing this would require a 35.3 per cent pay rise.

On Friday, Health Secretary Steve Barclay invited the BMA to talks but the union rejected the idea, saying there were “unacceptable” preconditions.

The preconditions are understood to have included looking at a non-consolidated lump sum payment for last year, whereas the BMA is seeking what it calls “full pay restoration”.