Further strikes may follow tomorrow's 'day of action' in which over 3,000 junior doctors will withdraw services from 31 hospitals, the IMO has warned.

IMO Assistant Industrial Relations Director Eric Young said further days of action may follow if the HSE does not engage seriously with the process to end excessive junior doctor working hours.

Tomorrow's strike action will begin at 7am and will last until midnight, the IMO said.

The union said during the strike, junior doctors will provide cover equivalent to that available in hospitals on Sundays, with one additional on-call registrar on duty for intensive care units.

Junior doctors have also agreed to provide support for any required transplant and dialysis services for patients, to provide normal weekend palliative care and to attend to patients who are having active chemotherapy and radiotherapy that cannot be deferred.

The IMO said in addition 'any unforeseen major incident' will be fully supported by junior doctors should it arise.

In recent days, the union has rejected invitations to return to talks to try to avert the strike, claiming there is no basis for agreement at present. However, the HSE and Health Minister James Reilly claim progress has been made.

The Minister has appealed to the IMO to go back to talks and not to take action that will affect patients.

The one-day strike is expected to lead to the cancellation of 12,000 outpatient appointments and 3,000 operations.

Time to end junior doctor stand-off