Junior doctors will hold a one day national strike on Wednesday, September 25, the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has confirmed.

Last month, junior doctors, also known as non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHDs), were balloted on industrial action in relation to their working hours.

Under the EU's European Working Time Directive (EWTD), they are legally required to work no more than 48 hours per week. However, according to the IMO, many work in excess of 70 hours per week, with some working shifts of up to 36 hours.

The results of the ballot revealed that 97% of junior doctors who voted were in favour of industrial action.

Following a special meeting of the Council of the IMO - whose sanction is required in the case of strikes - it unanimously passed a motion to support strike action in an effort to force the HSE to deal with this ongoing issue.

The IMO has now served formal notice of industrial action by junior doctors on the HSE. This action will see a one-day national strike on September 25. Then from Monday, September 30, every week a strike will be called in at least one hospital in each region of the country.

The chairman of the IMO's NCHD Committee, Dr John Donnellan, again appealed to the HSE to come up with proposals to resolve this issue.

"This has been an extremely difficult decision for doctors to make and we would not be in this position were it not for the inaction and prevarication of the Department of Health and the HSE. Even now, the Minister for Health could resolve this issue by directing his colleagues to tackle this issue once and for all," he insisted.

In a recent interview with Irishhealth.com, Dr Donnellan admitted that the decision to call an all-out strike would be difficult.

"It goes against your training and your mindset as a doctor to go on all-out strike. But NCHDs are completely fed up. In what little engagement there has been with HSE management on this issue, no solution has been offered to the working hours issue," he explained.

For more on why junior doctors are going to strike, click here