JUNIOR doctors at Ealing Hospital used their 24-hour walkout this week to raise awareness of emergency first aid.

About 50 medics, including registrars, senior health officers and trainee GPs, were picketing at Ealing on Tuesday to protest against proposed changes to working hours and top-up rates of pay.

Senior doctors and nurses expressed solidarity with their NHS counterparts and stepped in to man the wards during the action at Ealing Hospital.

Members of the paediatrics team on the picket line used mannequins to show what to do while waiting for paramedics.

Registrar Sarah Blackstock, who has worked at Ealing Hospital for the last 18 months, said: "We were obviously very disappointed that we had to strike, but we wanted to use it for something useful.

‘We felt that it was a huge success. The public were really positive, which we were really pleased about."

She used dummies to demonstrate chest compressions and rescue breaths and encouraged onlookers to have a go themselves.

She said that while basic life support at the scene doubled survival rates, only 20 per cent of people had been trained in it.

“We had people asking questions like ‘Do you have to use different techniques for men and women?’ and we could reassure them that no, it’s not like that,” said Dr Blackstock, 30, of Fulham.

She said it made her year when some patients came out of the hospital offering biscuits, chocolate and support.

November last year saw 99 per cent of junior doctors vote in favour of industrial action after health secretary Jeremy Hunt announced plans to re-define overtime and weekend hours.

Dr Blackstock explained: “We feel that we are being demoralised and demonised and that he is not listening to our concerns.

“Morale has been rock bottom in the hospital over the last few weeks, so it [the strike] was really good because we got the public behind us.”

The British Medical Association has yet to confirm if further planned strike action on January 22 and February 10 will go ahead.

For details on basic life support training, visit www.sja.org.uk