Resident doctors in England will stage a four-day strike from 15 June, the 16th walkout in their long-running dispute over pay and working conditions. The British Medical Association (BMA) blamed the new health secretary, James Murray, for the decision, accusing him of intransigence in negotiations.
The strike, lasting 96 hours from 7am on 15 June to 6.59am on 19 June, is expected to cause significant disruption to NHS services. Hospitals will have to reschedule tens of thousands of diagnostic tests, outpatient appointments, and operations. The BMA warned that further stoppages could follow in July unless progress is made on their demands.
The BMA is seeking a pay rise to compensate for what it says is a 26% real-terms loss in salary value since 2008-09 for England's 75,000 resident doctors, of whom the union represents around 55,000. It also wants the NHS to expand training places for medical specialties.
Health Secretary James Murray dismissed the pay claim as 'unrealistic, unaffordable, and unsustainable', noting that resident doctors have received a 33.4% pay rise over the last four years. He expressed disappointment that the BMA had refused further talks and called the strike unnecessary.
Dr Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA's resident doctors committee, said Murray had failed to offer a fair pay deal or concrete commitments on jobs. 'We cannot be asked to negotiate in good faith for weeks, only to be told there is nothing left to negotiate about on pay,' he added.
The NHS Alliance criticised the strike as 'rash and wholly irresponsible', warning it would place additional pressure on staff and cost the NHS an estimated £50m per day. Separately, the BMA's GPs committee plans to ballot family doctors on offering more private care, potentially leading to subscription-based services similar to dental surgeries.
