Why are some doctors striking in England?

Tens of thousands of NHS doctors in England have begun a six-day strike over pay and job opportunities.

The doctors who are striking are known as resident doctors, or junior doctors. Most are members of a union called the British Medical Association (BMA).

The latest strike comes after an offer from the Government was rejected by the BMA.

The Government minister who oversees the National Health Service (NHS), Wes Streeting, has described the walkout as disappointing.

While the BMA, have accused ministers of changing parts of their latest offer.

Members of the public are still encouraged to attend all appointments as long as they have not been told it is cancelled, and to still go to hospital or call 999 in an emergency.

Pharmacies and GP practices should also be running as normal.

The latest strike by resident doctors began at 7am on Tuesday 7 April and is due to run until the morning of Monday 13 April.

Doctors have been regularly striking for several years. One of the reasons is pay, but the government have said this is not something they will negotiate.

The current walkout is their 15th walkout in the past three years, and one of the longest since the start of the dispute.

The latest strike follows months of talks between the BMA union and the Government.

Last month, the government offered the BMA a number of measures, which it hoped might end the dispute.

It included covering some expenses, such as exam fees and creating extra training places for doctors.

However, the government is refusing to budge on giving resident doctors a pay increase.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said that 95% of appointments were still in place and apologised to those affected by cancellations, saying they "deserve better."

Dr Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA's resident doctor committee, told the BBC he was "genuinely very sorry" to patients that had care postponed due to the strike, but said that that such delays also occurred "without strike action" because of a lack of specialists and GPs.

Resident doctors are fully qualified doctors who are either currently in postgraduate training or gaining experience as locally-employed doctors.

They may have many years of experience.

Resident doctors may also be training to specialise in a particular area of medicine.

They work under supervision of a senior doctor, and make up to half of doctors currently working in the NHS.

A strike is when a group of workers come together and agree to stop working.

Employees do this when they want to protest against something they think is unfair where they work.

Many strikes are organised by something called a union.

A trade union is an organisation of workers from a particular job type or company.

They aim to help improve conditions for their members where they work.

You can read more about what strikes are here.