Junior doctors walked out of hospitals across the country today, and some are asking whether health secretary Jeremy Hunt is the main obstacle to negotiations between the British Medical Association and the Government.

Junior doctors picketed Epsom and St Helier Hospitals between 8am this morning, and will be there until 8am tomorrow.

Emergency care has been provided. 

From today: Junior doctors walk out for 24 hours as contract negotiations fail again

From today: On the picket line: Junior doctors strike over contract disputes

Junior doctors held the first NHS strike in 41 years on January 12.

The dispute is over a change to contracts, which would change the payment of normal time and premium time.

Currently, junior doctors are paid a higher rate for hours worked between 7pm and 7am Monday to Friday and for weekend work.

Under a new contract, premium time would cover hours work between 10pm and 7am Monday to Saturday.

Your Local Guardian:

Junior doctors strike outside St George's Hospital on January 12

The BMA had been in last-minute discussions with the Department of Health but were unable to avert action.

Sources close to the BMA told the Independent that a compromise was close to being reached last month, before health secretary Jeremy Hunt personally vetoed the revised contracts.

Mr Hunt told the BBC the BMA was the “only reason” talks broke down.

From January 13: In pictures: Junior doctors across south west London and north Surrey join in nationwide strike

Krishna Sivakumaran, 27, from Putney Hill, Putney, is a second year doctor at St Helier Hospital, and believes “the main obstacle in the negotiation is the health secretary himself”.

He said: “We have shown how reluctant we are by cancelling strikes and doing anything we can to avoid the strikes.

“Both sides had negotiated on a new contract. It was as much as a middle-ground as we were going to get but Jeremy Hunt vetoed it.

“That is not really the way negotiations are supposed to work.

“Is the pride and obstinacy of one man more important than the 54,000 junior doctors he is looking after?”

Your Local Guardian:

Junior doctors outside Croydon University Hospital today - picture from @CHonstvet

Aislin Macklin-Doherty, 32, from Lymington Road, Hampstead, is an oncologist at Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton.

She said: “I am striking because I feel this is the only option left to me to express my outrage and total discontent with how the current Government have bullied and intimidated us junior doctors into accepting a contract that will be categorically unfair for the profession and will ultimately be unsafe for the patients we care for."

On the day of the last strike, Jeremy Hunt thanked all who ignored the BMA’s advice to strike, and on the Andrew Marr show on Sunday, Mr Hunt said stikers had been “misled” by the BMA.

Ms Macklin-Doherty said: “We have been vilified and misrepresented by the Secretary of State for Health in the media to the general public I think this has got worse since the last strike.

“Doctors know what the conditions of these contracts will mean. We are telling the Government it will have devastating impacts on our ability to provide quality patient care and they are telling us we ‘are obstructing 7/7 services’ and are ‘misled’ by the Union.

“This is outrageous and we are demonstrating to protect our duty to protect patients' care.”

Your Local Guardian:

Members of Sutton's Keep Our NHS Public campaign outside Sutton station today

A Department for Health spokesman said: “This strike is completely unnecessary. It is very disappointing that tens of thousands of patients and NHS staff have been inconvenienced by the BMA.

“We have now agreed the vast majority of the contract detail with the BMA but it’s a great shame that they have broken the agreement we made with ACAS to discuss the outstanding issue of Saturday working and pay for unsocial hours.”

Your Local Guardian:

A Department for Health spokesperson said: “This strike is completely unnecessary. It is very disappointing that tens of thousands of patients and NHS staff have been inconvenienced by the BMA.

“We have now agreed the vast majority of the contract detail with the BMA but it’s a great shame that they have broken the agreement we made with ACAS to discuss the outstanding issue of Saturday working and pay for unsocial hours.”

A statement on Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust read: “We are, as you would expect, taking appropriate action to ensure that any disruption to services is kept to an absolute minimum and that the quality of patient care we provide is not compromised.”

Your Local Guardian:

A spokeswoman from health campaigners Keep Our St Helier Hospital said: “KOSHH supports the action taken by the junior doctors absolutely.

“Junior doctors are protecting our NHS by fighting a contract that is unsafe for patients and unfair to doctors.

“We're appalled that this Government is lying to the public about weekend deaths being caused by under staffing so that they can push through a contract which removes the safeguards that prevent doctors working excessive hours.

“We believe that the real objective of the new contract in not about providing a seven day NHS - which already exists - but about attacking doctors' terms and conditions to pave the way for further privatisation.”

What do you think? Get in touch at craig.richard@london.newsquest.co.uk