Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust has rescheduled operations as junior doctors get set to begin an all-out strike tomorrow.

The hospital trust said it hoped to “ensure that any disruption to services is kept to an absolute minimum” during the industrial action, planned set to last from 8am to 5pm on both Tuesday and Wednesday.

Unlike previous strikes held this year, junior doctors will not provide emergency care during the walk-out.

RELATED: NHS boss warns escalated junior doctor strikes will 'irreparably damage' trust in doctors

A spokesman for the trust said: “As such, we have made the decision to reschedule some outpatient clinics and planned procedures. All patients affected by these changes have been notified ahead of time.

“If patients do not hear from us, they should assume their appointment remains unchanged.

“We will be providing the full range of emergency, intensive and maternity care during this period, which will be provided by consultants from across our hospitals, supported by a range of medical, nursing and allied health professionals.”

The British Medical Association, the union representing the junior doctors, say the new contract will see staff work longer hours for less money as it aims to curb unsociable hours pay by reclassifying the hours considered as such.

Andrew Clarke, a junior doctor at Epsom and St Helier Hospital told the Sutton Guardian that he would be joining his colleagues on during the two-day strike over changes to their contract.

The 27-year-old said: “Let us be clear, we already have a seven-day emergency NHS.

“I am an A&E doctor and can tell members of the public that if they were unfortunate enough to need our service on a Saturday, there would be exactly the same number of doctors working on that shift as a Wednesday.

“This contract is about increasing the current five-day service for routine, non-emergency work without increasing staffing, funding or resources.

“It will require my colleagues and I to accept a significant pay cut for weekend shifts and will pull doctors from the week to the weekend.

“I work on the front line and I know that we already struggle to provide five day elective and seven day emergency cover.

“The Government will have the public believe that this contract is simply about pay, but I truly believe that it threatens the quality of care that I will be able to provide to my patients.”

The BMA has said it will would the strike if Jeremy Hunt’s backed down from threatening to impose the new junior doctor’s contract.

But speaking in Parliament this afternoon, the health secretary said the Government would not back down in the dispute.

He added: “The impact of the next two days will be unprecedented with over 110,000 outpatient appointments and over 12,500 operations cancelled.

“The NHS is busting a gut to keep the public safe. But we should not lose sight of the underlying reason for this dispute, namely this government’s determination to be the first country in the world to offer a proper patient-focused seven-day health service.”

The NHS's most senior doctor earlier this month said the escalated strike would be a "watershed moment" for the service it was to go ahead.

Sir Bruce Keogh, the medical director of NHS England, suggested the action would “irreparably damage” trust in the profession.