SENIOR doctors are set to go on strike again next week.

British Medical Association (BMA) consultants will walk out on Thursday and Friday.

The Whittington Hospital has warned of longer waiting times but says its emergency department and maternity care services will continue through the strike.

This is the second bout of industrial action by senior doctors in the first wave of strikes in 50 years. In a statement released yesterday (Thursday), the Whittington assured patients that their safety was the “top priority” of the hospital and they “have plans in place to ensure that anyone who needs our care will continue to receive it”.

The hospital also said that unless patients have heard from them, they are to assume their appointments will carry on as normal.

The strike comes after the BMA rejected a government pay rise of just under 6 per cent.

Earlier this month, health secretary Steve Barclay said the government had “listened to the independent pay review body recommendations” and that consultants should “call off this strike and focus on patients”.