Doctors in the UK have defended their decision to stop all non-urgent care for a day in June in an open letter printed in UK newspapers.

The British Medical Association said that the decision to take industrial action, which is the first in almost 40 years, was not taken lightly. A majority of doctors had voted in favor of action in a BMA conducted poll over pension changes.

The doctors will stop regular medical care and only cater to the emergency cases over a dispute over changes to their pension plans proposed by the government.

The doctors in the UK are warning of an industrial action to protest after they voted overwhelmingly in May 2011 against changes proposed by the government to their pension plans. The doctors have now ruled out a strike but said that they would only treat the most seriously ill patients over a given 24-hour period.

The members of the British Medical Association (BMA) voted overwhelmingly against the government's plans in a poll organised by the association to take a decision on the proposed changes. As many as 84 per cent of the BMA members opposed changes being put forward by the UK government. The BMA had urged the government to take a "different course" over proposed pension changes. The association said that the changes have left doctors feeling "let down and betrayed".