A spokeswoman for the hospital said it had declared a “level 4” incident and needed its doctors in work and not on strike.
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North East health businesses have pledged it will be “business as usual” despite the junior doctors’ strike on Tuesday.
The doctors will provide only emergency care for 24 hours, starting today (January 12) from 8am.
This is the first strike by junior doctors over pay and conditions since 1975, although they were involved in a 2012 walkout over pensions.
Dr Iain Chorlton, chairman at NHS Kernow which commissions care for hospitals in Cornwall, said: “Contingency plans are in place locally to minimise any potential disruption to patients and ensure that safety and care is maintained, during the planned national industrial action by junior doctors”.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday urged the doctors to abandon what he said was a “damaging” strike.
While they are often mistaken for being young practitioners, many Junior Doctors are actually in their 20s and 30s and juggle families with their hectic and stretched working hours. “That’s why so many of them across England will be joining picket lines during their breaks and lunchtimes to show the health secretary that, while everyone wants to see a seven day NHS, his approach to achieving it is completely wrong”.
BMA leader Dr. Mark Porter said: “We sincerely regret the disruption that industrial action will cause, but junior doctors have been left with no option”.
Holding placards saying “trust real doctors not spin doctors”, “tired doctors makes mistakes, not fair not safe; and ‘keep calm and save our NHS” doctors protested outside the Conquest and Eastbourne DGH from 8am.
The BMA’s other planned strikes include a 48-hour period of emergency care only from January 26 and a full nine-hour walk-out on February 10.
Junior doctors will only offer emergency care between 8am on Tuesday and 8am on Wednesday.
Hospital chiefs say that all patients who are booked in for planned, non-urgent surgery will be called by medical staff to let them know if their operation will be going ahead. But this is offset by plans to cut the number of hours on a weekend for which juniors can claim extra pay for unsocial hours.
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A BMA strike last month was cancelled at the 11th hour to allow crisis talks to continue, but the strike was back on the table after the negotiations collapsed.
