Junior doctors and consultants in England have launched their longest period of joint strike action after beginning their three-day walkout.Both sets of staff will deliver "Christmas Day" levels of staffing from 7am on Monday until the same time on Thursday after taking joint action in September for the first time in the history of the NHS, which led to almost 130,000 inpatient and outpatient appointments being rescheduled.It comes as the Government urged unions to end "relentless" strike action

Junior doctors and consultants in England have launched their longest period of joint strike action after beginning their three-day walkout.Both sets of staff will deliver "Christmas Day" levels of staffing from 7am on Monday until the same time on Thursday after taking joint action in September for the first time in the history of the NHS, which led to almost 130,000 inpatient and outpatient appointments being rescheduled.It comes as the Government urged unions to end "relentless" strike action, insisting doctors have received a "fair and reasonable" pay rise.The British Medical Association (BMA), whose members are striking, said doctors are "fed up" of being labelled the problem.