Northwick Park Hospital staff and supporters were out in full force on Tuesday (January 12) as part of the national junior doctor's strikes.

Campaigners were lined up outside the hospital holding banners reading 'Honk 4 NHS' and 'Save our NHS'.

The 24-hour walkout is part of a strike over pay conditions and hours and a further 48-hour strike is expected on January 26.

GP registrar at Northwick Park Hospital , Bea Bakshi, said their fight is with the government, not patients.

She said: “Our main concerns are that the government doesn’t recognise the hours we do, including weekends that have a significant impact on our work-life balance.

“We are really hoping that before the 48-hour strike happens, something changes. Hopefully talks will be successful and hopefully we can avoid strike action.

“The fight is with the government, not with patients, we are trying to protect our working hours so we don’t make mistakes as they are the ones that are suffering.”

'We need to stay a first class NHS'

At the picket line, Emma Carrington, Surgical Trainee Doctor at Northwick Park Hospital said:

"We started up at 8am today and we have over 100 junior doctors here and have already got lots of support from other people supporting us.

"We are very pleased with the level of support we've been given, patients going in and out of the hospital have been telling us they love the NHS and want it to continue.

"It's the first time in 40 years that we felt it was necessary to strike, we've fought long and hard but we are fed up with the government's treatment of the NHS.

"The junior doctors contract is the final straw, when we get a new government every five years they make new changes to NHS with no benefit to us or our patients.

"We are humans too we need to be well rested because we make life saving decisions all day every day.

"I do think this will make a difference, it's a marathon not a sprint. We had a 98% mandate for strike action and the government didn't listen to us, they thought we were being silly children.

"We know the NHS so much better than Jeremy Hunt, he's never spent a day doing my job, I invite him to see what our lives are like.

"We need to stay a first class NHS."

'This is a strike that did not need to happen'

Junior doctors were initially expected to take strike action at the beginning of December last year, when 37,000 medics balloted to strike.

The strike action was called off at the eleventh hour however, and was tabled to a later date.

Labour Party MP for Harrow West joined the strike action outside the hospital, chanting with the junior doctors and supporters.

Gareth Thomas said: “This is a strike that did not need to happen.

“I hope Jeremy Hunt will sit down with junior doctors and negotiate properly so that strike action is stopped as has happened in Scotland and Wales.”

Thousands of nurses and midwives recently demonstrated in Downing Street against plans to scrap bursaries.