Exasperated NHS bosses have urged Health Secretary Wes Streeting and the British Medical Association (BMA) to agree to independent mediation to end industrial action by resident doctors, who are due to begin their latest five-day strike on Wednesday. The NHS Confederation, representing hospital trusts, said an arbitrator could bridge the gap between the two sides and resolve the 33-month dispute in England.
Thousands of resident doctors will walk out from 7am on Wednesday until 7am on Monday 22 December, in their 14th strike action since 2023. Hospitals have cancelled tens of thousands of tests and treatments to cope with the additional pressure. Last-ditch talks on Tuesday between Streeting and the BMA were described as “constructive” but failed to reach an agreement on pay and jobs.
Sir Jim Mackey, head of NHS England, condemned the strike as “cruel” and “calculated”, accusing the BMA of aiming to “cause mayhem” during one of the health service’s busiest weeks. The Confederation’s plea reflects growing fears that the deadlock could “drag on and on” into 2026 unless a settlement is found.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “Clearly the current standoff between the government and the BMA’s resident doctors committee is detrimental to all parties, but the repercussions will be felt most severely by patients. Some common ground is urgently needed, which independent mediation could support.” He warned that patients and staff risk becoming “collateral damage” in a dispute that has “played out for far too long”.
Resident doctors are seeking a 26% pay rise over three years and a major expansion of training places, beyond Streeting’s offer of an increase from 1,000 to 4,000. The health secretary has repeatedly called the 26% claim unaffordable. Dr Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee, said ministers should realise “how badly they have handled this situation” and warned that without progress, strikes could continue “well into the new year”.
The BMA plans to reballot its 55,000 resident doctor members – out of 70,000 in NHS England – as the current strike mandate expires on 6 January. The Department of Health and Social Care did not directly respond to the mediation call but said “every effort was made to avert tomorrow’s strike”.
