HOSPITAL chiefs in Hampshire are launching emergency meetings to ensure patients receive the care they need ahead of a wave of possible strikes by junior doctors.

Thousands of trainee medics have voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action in a bitter row with the government over pay and conditions.

It is feared that three separate walk-outs – set to begin on December 1 – will cause mass disruption, as the NHS braces itself for a winter surge in patients.

Now bosses at Southampton General Hospital are meeting with senior staff in key departments and union leaders.

It comes as junior doctors claim the pay deal risks patient safety by “overworking” doctors.

A hospital spokesman said: “Human resources and senior clinical staff across the organisation will be holding meetings to develop plans that will ensure our that services run as safely and as effectively as possible during the periods of strike action.”

The British Medical Association (BMA) announced that 98 per cent of members voted for strikes and 99 per cent in support of industrial action short of a strike. It said it had approached the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) in a last ditch bid for fresh talks with health secretary Jeremy Hunt.

If a strike goes ahead, doctors will take action over three days, providing emergency care only for 24 hours from 8am on December 1, followed by full walkouts from 8am-5pm on December 8 and 16.

Hospitals will be forced to cancel outpatient clinics and non-urgent operations.

Dr Mark Porter, chair of the BMA council, blamed the government for imposing a contract he says is “unsafe and unfair” for patients and doctors. Mr Hunt branded the strikes “regrettable”.

The starting salary for junior doctors is currently £22,636, with extra for working overtime and antisocial hours. The average annual pay for a doctor in training is £37,000 according to the NHS Employers Organisation.

The new contract is set to be imposed from next summer on doctors working up to consultant level and includes an 11 per cent rise in basic pay.

This is offset by plans to slash weekend hours and claims for staff can claim extra pay for “unsocial” hours.

Dr Cathy Paget, who works at the Southampton General Hospital accident and emergency, says proposals to scrap financial penalties imposed on hospitals making staff work too many hours will leave doctors “overworked” especially in emergency departments.

She said: “If doctors are working more antisocial hours they will be tired. We want a contract that is safe work for patients and doctors. If you want doctors to work more hours and more weekends you need to employ more people.”

She said the overall package will lead to less pay in a job involving increasing risk and responsibility.

But she stressed her contract requires her to work during the strikes and added: “Nobody should be frightened about coming into the hospital in an emergency because they will be cared for.”