DOCTORS on the picket lines warned new contracts being enforced by the Government will put some off working here.

The warning came on a day of strikes with hundreds supporting the junior doctors outside the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

Drivers honked their horns in support outside the hospital and the young doctors were determined to carry out the strike despite fearing it will have little effect.

Laura Freire-Moran, a 34 year old junior doctor, came to the UK as a pharmacist 11 years ago and retrained.

She said: “The UK gave me the opportunity to retrain as a doctor and that was my dream, I was lucky.

“But I’m going home in August. I can’t do it any more. This contract is not compatible with having any kind of a family or a life.

“It’s fundamentally sexist, it’s going to make women not want to enter the profession.”

She criticised the Health Secretary’s handling of both the data behind, and the negotiation of, the new contracts.

“The data about death rates for weekend admission is the same in 60 per cent of the countries in which the study was repeated.

“But even if the data was right, which it’s not, and even if it explained the problem he has identified, which it doesn’t, this contract still wouldn’t solve the problem. There are not enough support staff at weekend and overnight.”

Despite their determination to carry out industrial action the strikers said they worked hard to minimise disruption.

Dozens had stayed hours late the previous night pre-writing administrative paperwork and leaving their wards as well-prepared as possible for the strike over the two days, yesterday and today from 8am to 5pm.

Todd Leckie, the BMA representative at the picket, said: “The feedback we’ve been getting from consultants as they’ve been coming out to show their support is that they've been coping, they’ve been providing safe patient care.”

He said he saw no resolution in sight between the current parties to the dispute and called on the Prime Minister to become personally involved to bring parties back to the negotiating table.