Resident doctors in England have called off strike action after the government made a new offer that will be put to members. The planned four-day walkout, set to begin at 7am on Monday, would have been the 16th round of strike action since 2023.
Last-minute offer averts strike
The British Medical Association (BMA) announced on Saturday that a last-minute offer had been received, which will now be presented to members for a vote. Dr Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee, stated: “We have always been clear that no strikes needed to go ahead if we received an offer appropriate to put to our members.”
He added: “This should not have been left to the last moment, but we hold up our end of the bargain when the government shifts its position. All we have asked for is a fair offer that secures enough jobs to tackle the madness of doctor unemployment and take steps to address the erosion of our pay. Tens of thousands of frontline doctors will now vote in a referendum on whether this offer is sufficient.”
Details of the offer
The offer is understood to include standard 2016 resident doctor contract terms for all locally employed doctors and an average 6.6% pay uplift, to be fully implemented by April 2027. Dr Fletcher emphasised that strikes are a last resort and that the BMA will continue to negotiate in good faith. He warned, however, that if members reject the offer, the union would have to proceed with plans for further escalated action next month.
Impact on NHS and patients
Prof Frankie Swords, national medical director at NHS England, had previously warned that the planned strike would have created a “triple whammy of pressure” coinciding with warm weather and the World Cup. Health Secretary James Murray welcomed the development, saying: “It is a positive and welcome development – especially for patients – that the BMA have called off these unnecessary strikes.” However, he noted that after a 28.9% pay rise for resident doctors over the last three years, “the country simply cannot afford to increase the pay offer for this year.”
