The party’s pledge for the NHS is ‘hugely ambitious’, says one expert, though others are more optimistic.

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Labour appears poised to win a historic election victory on 4 July. In the series Life under Labour, we look at Keir Starmer’s five key political missions and ask what is at stake and whether he can deliver the change the country is crying out for.

“If they came into power, the Labour party would inherit a really terrible set of problems in the NHS that are both broader and deeper than the ones they faced in 1997. This feels a lot worse,” says Siva Anandaciva, the chief analyst at the King’s Fund thinktank.

More than half of international medical graduates questioned say NHS induction inadequate

Many doctors from overseas are left feeling lost, anxious and not ready to care for patients after joining the NHS because they are not properly looked after, research has found.

Many international medical graduates (IMGs) feel the NHS does not help them prepare for life as a doctor in the UK and the practicalities of moving to a new country, according to a survey.

38% said they had too little time to shadow other doctors to gain valuable insights.

45% were not trained on cultural differences between the NHS and their country of origin and what is acceptable in the UK compared with in their home nation.

48% said their induction did not involve being given enough knowledge or training before starting to work clinically.

51% did not receive help or advice with practical issues after moving to the UK such as finding a place to live, opening a bank account, registering with a GP or paying council tax.

41% said they were left feeling alone and isolated.

38% questioned their decision to work in the NHS.

The doctors should get a pay rise, but they are not the only public servants with a case for better terms

Junior doctors deserve a pay rise. Entry requirements are among the most competitive of all professions, and even were the health service not on its knees, the early years of a medical career would be demanding. Looking after people who are ill or injured is difficult and high-stakes work. Under current conditions, with vast waiting lists, workforce shortages, a rising population of chronically unwell people and, in some places, buildings that are not fit for purpose, it can be a punishing job.

It is two years this month since the British Medical Association voted for pay rises of up to 30% over five years. Consultants agreed a deal with the government last year, as did nurses. But junior doctors, who make up about half of all NHS doctors in England, have held out. In March, in a further ballot, 98% opted to keep striking in pursuit of a 35% pay rise, on a 62% turnout. The five-day strike that started on Thursday is their 11th. When it ends they will have been on strike for a total of 44 days since they first walked out in March last year. At least 1.3m cancelled appointments have been among the results.

With differing views on striking junior doctors and Brexit, could a lunch and ‘proper conversation’ lead to common ground?

Matt, 24, Southampton

Occupation Medical student

Five-day strike by junior doctors is the 11th action in their long-running pay dispute

“I’m itching to get back to work, to get back to the grindstone,” says Matthew Alexander, a junior radiology doctor. “Nobody wants to be here, nobody wants to be on strike.” Alexander, 30, is one of about 50 junior doctors on a Thursday morning picket line at the Friarage hospital in Northallerton, a bustling market town in Rishi Sunak’s sprawling North Yorkshire constituency.

It’s a sunny day; there’s cheerful, enthusiastic chanting and lots of support from drivers who honk their horns, but it is abundantly clear that only Betty, a laid-back 11-year-old jackapoo, is anywhere approaching happy to be here.

About 25,000 BMA members begin five-day action at 7am that some union leaders say will achieve little

Junior doctors in England will strike today for the 11th time over pay, amid concern in their union that a stoppage so close to the general election is an “own goal”.

Senior figures in the British Medical Association (BMA) believe the strike is pointless and “naive” and risks irritating Labour, which looks likely to be in power by next Friday and asked the union to call it off.

Researchers say in most cases condition is mild but it can increase risk of heart attacks and strokes

One in four healthy people aged 60 and over in the UK have undiagnosed heart valve disease, research suggests.

The conditions develops when one or more of the heart valves do not work properly. The main problems are caused by the valves either not opening fully or not closing correctly.

Beset by the doctors’ strike, the prime minister swelters under the glare of a shining Keir Starmer