Junior doctors’ latest strike dates send a message but gameplan is unclear

Stoppages in winter could spell disaster and 25 days of action to date have yielded only modest progress

Ministers and hospital bosses were desperately hoping that junior doctors' leaders would demonstrate the same pragmatism that their consultant counterparts did last week when they agreed details of a deal that, subject to a ballot, will end their long-running pay dispute.

However, those hopes proved forlorn. Junior doctors' talks with the government have collapsed. The NHS in England and all those needing its help now face the nightmare scenario of nine days of strikes in quick succession, just before and just after the holiday fortnight. The dates chosen are 20-23 December and 3-9 January. Those walkouts will come during the winter crisis when the always overstretched service is under its greatest pressure, when reports of chaotic A&Es, queues of ambulances outside hospitals and the plight of seriously ill patients unable to get care quickly often dominate news bulletins.