Resident doctors in England to consult on calling off strikes

Resident doctors are to be consulted on whether or not to call off next week’s planned strike after receiving an offer from the government, the British Medical Association (BMA) has said.

Medics are due to strike for five days from 17 December because of the continuing row over pay and concerns over training places.

The BMA said the government had put forward an offer on “ending the jobs crisis for doctors in England”.

The offer came as the number of people in hospital with flu in England reached a record level for this time of year. At least six hospitals across the UK have told patients to stay away because of a surge in cases.

The BMA said resident doctors would be consulted over whether the offer was enough to call off next week’s action through an online survey, which will close on Monday.

If union members say the offer is enough to call off the strikes, a formal referendum will be held on the proposals, the BMA said.

If they do not, the strikes will go ahead as planned. The BMA said the new offer included: new legislation to ensure homegrown doctors in training have priority for speciality training roles; an increase in speciality training posts over the next three years, with 1,000 of these to start in 2026; funding provision for mandatory examinations and Royal College membership fees for resident doctors.

The BMA resident doctors committee chair, Dr Jack Fletcher, said: “We have forced the government to recognise the scale of the problems and respond with measures on training numbers and prioritisation.

“However, this offer does not increase the overall number of doctors working in England and does nothing to restore pay for doctors, which remains well within the government’s power to do.

“After their strike action succeeded in moving the government from offering 1,000 training jobs to 4,000, as well as a plan on prioritisation for UK graduates and those who have worked in the NHS for some time, as a member-led organisation we are giving resident doctors their say.

“If members believe this is enough to call off strike action, then we will hold a referendum to end the dispute. But if they give us a clear message that it is not, the government will have to go further to end industrial action.”