Resident doctors will go on strike for five days from 7am on July 25, their union has confirmed.
In a statement released today, BMA resident doctors committee co-chairs Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt said: “We met Wes Streeting yesterday and made every attempt to avoid strike action by opening negotiations for pay restoration.
“Unfortunately, the Government has stated that it will not negotiate on pay, wanting to focus on non-pay elements without suggesting what these might be. Without a credible offer to keep us on the path to restore our pay, we have no choice but to call strikes.
“No doctor wants to strike, and these strikes don’t have to go ahead. If Mr Streeting can seriously come to the table in the next two weeks we can ensure that no disruption is caused. The Government knows what is needed to avert strikes. The choice is theirs.”
In a ballot over whether to strike some 90% of resident doctors voted in favour on a turnout of 55%, just above the legal threshold of 50% required for industrial action, the union announced yesterday.
The union had said it would seek fresh talks with the government before announcing strike days.
But a Downing Street spokesman said: “We aren’t going to reopen negotiations on pay.
“Resident doctors have received the highest pay award across the public sector for two years in a row, and we’ve been clear that we can’t be more generous than we already have this year.”
The medics were awarded a 5.4% pay rise for this financial year, following a 22% increase over the previous two years.
But the BMA says wages are still around 20% lower in real terms than in 2008 and are demanding "pay restoration".
The ballot gives the BMA’s wing of around 48,000 resident doctors a mandate to call strike action over the next six months - so the July action could be just the start of a series of hugely damaging walkouts.
Another wave of NHS walkouts would be devastating for the Government’s ambition to cut waiting lists, and undermine the implementation of the ten-year plan unveiled last week.
Sir Keir Starmer's "plan for change" pledged that by July 2029, 92% of patients will be seen within 18 weeks for routine hospital treatment such as hip and knee replacements.
Previous strikes by resident doctors and other staff groups saw some 1.5 million appointments, procedures and operations postponed as a result.
Wes Streeting has warned that the public “will not forgive” the strike action.
The Health Secretary wrote in The Times that walkouts would be a “disaster” for BMA members and patients, saying the Government “can’t afford” pay rises.
He said: “I urge the BMA, even at this late stage, to reconsider this deeply damaging course of action.
“Work with a government that actually wants to work with you: to improve working conditions for staff and care for patients.
“The public will not forgive strike action in these circumstances and nor will I.”
