UP to 40 junior doctors were set to picket outside the Royal Blackburn Hospital today, as junior doctors nationwide strike for the first time since 1975.

Dr Jennifer Redfern, a BMA rep at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said they hoped to speak to as many people as possible to get across their point of view.

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NHS England said hospitals would be under 'additional pressure' as thousands of junior doctors go on strike in the dispute over pay and a new contract.

The strike action, set to begin at 8am, (Tue) is due to last until 8am tomorrow (Wed,13), although all emergency care will be staffed.

NHS England said 1,425 inpatient operations and procedures had been cancelled as a result of the strike along with 2,535 outpatient ones across England.

There are around 250 junior doctors across East Lancashire.

Dr Redfern, who plans to join the picket line with colleagues, said if the Government did impose the contract on junior doctors it could lead to droves leaving the UK.

She said: "The NHS is a beloved institution. Working there every day you realise it is mostly run on goodwill of the nurses who are constantly understaffed.

"If this contract is imposed you will see an increase in numbers of doctors leaving the country and going to places like Canada, New Zealand and Australia."

Dr David Wrigley, Lancashire BMA representative, has described the prospective strike action as 'unprecedented'.

He said: "We must remember that junior doctors are not asking for more pay.

"It's all about a safe and fair contract, one that protects patients and the NHS."

Bosses at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust assured the public that it would be 'mostly business as usual' but admitted that a small number of elective operations and clinics have had to be cancelled.

Dr Damian Riley, medical director at the trust, said: "Patients in need of urgent and emergency care will continue to receive the treatment they need, when they need it.

"However, due to increased pressures on the trust over this period, those in less urgent need of care may experience longer waiting times than normal and some elective operations will need to be postponed or rearranged."