NHS bosses have accused resident doctors of aiming to cause “maximum harm” to patients by striking for six days next month over pay and jobs. The British Medical Association’s (BMA) decision to withdraw from talks with the government and NHS chiefs has sparked a war of words.
Glen Burley, NHS England’s financial reset and accountability director, said during an NHS England board meeting on Thursday that the BMA’s decision was “really disappointing for patients. I mean, this is a point where we know we’ll be at a busy stage again. So it feels like it’s trying to push maximum harm and we will try and make sure that doesn’t happen.” He added that he was “really shocked” that the BMA’s resident doctors committee opted against putting Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s offer to all members.
Jim Mackey, NHS England’s chief executive, said the BMA’s rejection and six-day strike from 7 April means the dispute – which began in March 2023 – will continue for the foreseeable future. Mackey said that after intensive negotiations since early January, “we felt very, very, very close that we had a deal that could work for all parties. It’s incredibly disappointing that it fell to bits at the last minute.” The NHS is bracing for a “long distance” run of industrial action.
On Wednesday, the BMA claimed talks “had been making good progress” until two weeks ago “when the government began to shift the goalposts”, but did not explain what had changed. The government had offered resident doctors £700m in additional income between 2026 and 2029, gained by moving up pay scales quicker, as a way of meeting their demand for “full pay restoration” through a 26% salary uplift. However, the BMA insisted the money should come in one year – 2026-27 – and walked away when the government ruled that out.
In the Commons on Thursday, Streeting told the BMA it had until 2 April to reconsider his offer – or risk him withdrawing it altogether, including a plan to expand specialist medical training places from 1,000 to 4,500. Dr Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee, said it was “misleading” of Streeting to claim resident doctors had seen a 35% pay rise over four years, arguing inflation had eroded the value.
