London, October 2 (RHC) British Medical Association (BMA) member hospital consultants and pediatricians began a 72-hour nationwide strike on Monday over an ongoing pay dispute.

This is the second coordinated action taken by medical staff after last month across England.

The strike started today at 07.00 local time and will last until 07.00 next Thursday, according to the Sky News television channel.

Earlier, the BMA said in a statement that instead of going on full strike on these days, both paediatricians and consultants would take part in a form of action known as Christmas Day protection, where only emergency treatment would be provided.

Meanwhile, the NHS has warned of an extreme end to the strike, with thousands more appointments expected to be rescheduled this week.

He added that the first joint strike between consultants and paediatricians occurred last week, forcing the rescheduling of nearly 130,000 inpatient and outpatient appointments.

The country’s services have had little time to recover from previous measures and now face a third consecutive day of strike action this week, which will prove challenging, with routine care almost at a standstill, said Stephen Powis, NHS medical director.

The government has repeatedly urged unions and doctors to end their protests, and insisted that a six percent pay rise this year was the last straw.

However, the BMA, which considered this ridiculous, considered it an insult to the consultant.

The cumulative total of rescheduled appointments for acute inpatients and outpatients throughout the year has now surpassed one million, according to official figures.