BMA rejects government offer as doctors prepare 5-day strike

Resident doctors in England have said they will go on strike for five days in November (PA) Jeff Moore

Doctors in England will strike for five consecutive days in November in an escalating dispute over jobs and pay. The British Medical Association (BMA) announced resident doctors will walk out from 7am on November 14 to 7am on November 19.

Resident doctors, previously known as junior doctors, make up around half of all doctors working in the NHS. They can have up to eight years' experience in hospital medicine or up to three years in general practice, depending on their specialty.

Dr Jack Fletcher, chairman of the BMA's resident doctors committee, said the union had spent a week in talks with government but felt forced to act. He said: "We know from our own survey half of second year doctors in England are struggling to find jobs, their skills going to waste whilst millions of patients wait endlessly for treatment, and shifts in hospitals go unfilled."

Union rejects government offer

Fletcher explained the union had proposed "options to gradually reverse the cuts to pay over several years, giving newly trained doctors a pay increase of just a pound an hour for the next four years". He criticised the Health Secretary's response as making "vague promises for some degree of change to jobs and training for two years hence, showing little understanding of the crisis here and now".

The BMA chairman stated: "While we want to get a deal done, the Government seemingly does not, leaving us with little option but to call for strike action."

Government calls strike "preposterous"

Health Secretary Wes Streeting described the planned walkouts as "unreasonable and unnecessary" and lacking public support. He said: "It is preposterous that the BMA have rushed headlong into more damaging strike action a week after its new leadership opened discussions with the Government."

Streeting argued that resident doctors had already received a 28.9% pay rise and the government could not go further on pay this year. He accused the BMA of "blocking a better deal for doctors" by walking away from offers to improve working conditions and create more specialty training roles.

Warnings over patient impact

The Health Secretary warned the strikes would "harm patients, leave other doctors and NHS staff to pick up the pieces and divert resources away from rebuilding the NHS". He urged the BMA to call off the action and return to negotiations.

Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, said another strike was "the last thing the NHS needs" as winter approaches. He warned that "once again it'll be patients that will be left paying the price" despite trust leaders' preparations for the five-day walkout.

Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).