Health Secretary Wes Streeting has accused the British Medical Association (BMA) of 'delusion' after last-ditch talks failed to avert a six-day strike by resident doctors in England. The walkout, set to begin at 7am on Tuesday, will be the longest yet in the ongoing dispute over pay and conditions.
Streeting confirmed he has withdrawn an offer to create 1,000 extra specialist training places, which was conditional on the BMA accepting the government's latest pay offer. The union rejected that offer last week, and subsequent talks on Tuesday and Wednesday failed to reach a deal.
In a letter to BMA's resident doctors committee chair Dr Jack Fletcher, Streeting said: 'The BMA seems to be labouring under the delusion that you can reject the deal but claim the benefits of the offer.' He added that the committee's inability to agree a counterproposal made it 'hard to see how the government will be able to reach an agreement'.
Jim Mackey, chief executive of NHS England, warned of 'a long slog' of continuing strikes, with services adapting to reduce reliance on resident doctors. The estimated £250m cost per strike and the imminent deadline for specialist training applications made the 1,000 extra places 'operationally or financially impossible', Streeting said.
The BMA's demand for a 26% pay rise remains a key sticking point, with some senior doctors believing the dispute is insoluble given public finance constraints. The strike, the 16th since March 2023, will coincide with the Easter weekend, adding to staffing pressures.
