BMA set to decide if week-long junior doctor strikes should be called off

The first strike was suspended after warnings from health services they could not cope

Weekend care has been one of the key issues surrounding the junior doctors’ strike (Getty)

A union meeting has been called to decide whether or not junior doctors will be continuing with their planned industrial action.

The council of the British Medical Association (BMA) will meet to come to a conclusion on whether or not the three week-long strikes planned for this year will go ahead, according to the Telegraph.

The first strike was suspended after warnings from health services they could not cope with such little notice but more are planned from now until Christmas.

A BMA insider told the Telegraph that the strikes could lead to people dying and need to be called off.

“We have to find a way out of this, even if we take all night. If we pursue strikes on this scale it will end up killing people. There is no way that we should be contemplating action like this about a dispute on terms and conditions,” the insider said.

The BMA’s council agreed to four week-long strikes after a tight vote between the 27 voting members.

After the first strike was called off, a Department of Health spokesperson said: "If the BMA were really serious about patient safety, they would immediately cancel their remaining plans for industrial action which, as the General Medical Council says, will only cause patients to suffer.”