Bosses at Medway Hospital are putting plans in place to cope with next week's highly controversial five-day junior doctor's walkout.

The medics will be taking industrial action from next Monday, September 12, until Friday, September 16, in the first of four monthly strikes scheduled between now and December.

This latest announcement came from their union, the British Medical Association, as the acrimonious and long-running dispute with the government over new contracts continues.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is committed to introducing a seven day contract to improve service to patients at weekends – but junior doctors believe this would involve them working longer hours and would compromise the safety of patients.

Lesley Dwyer, chief executive of Medway NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Medway Maritime Hospital, said plans were already made for cover during the strike.

She said: “We understand this is a difficult situation for all concerned, especially our junior doctors.

“As always, our top priority is to ensure patients continue to receive a high standard of care at all times.

“In light of the recent announcement, we’re now actively working on contingency plans with our health partners to ensure the continuation and safe provision of services to patients.

“As with the previous action, we anticipate that many of our highly experienced senior clinicians will step forward to ensure the hospital is well-covered.

“If the industrial action does go ahead, we will unfortunately have to reschedule some outpatient clinics and non-emergency surgery.

“We will ensure that any patients who will be impacted by this are notified.

“However, urgent and time-critical care will continue as normal.

“Patients in less urgent need of care may experience longer waiting times than normal.

“If patients have a minor injury or illness and they’re not sure where to go for treatment, they should call NHS111 for advice or their local GP.”