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resident doctor will strike before christmasThe British Medical Association (BMA) has confirmed its members have rejected the Government’s latest offer to end their long-running dispute over jobs and pay.
In the five-day strike, employees will be on strike from 7 am on December 17 to 7 am on December 22. It symbolizes the 14th Resident doctors strike – formerly known as junior doctors – from March 2023, following a similar five-day walk out last month.
This action has taken place when Britain is in the grip of it Record breaking flu outbreakThere were an average of 2,660 patients with the virus in hospital beds per day last week, a 55 percent increase from the previous week.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting says that the BMA has chosen strike Given the rising number of cases, at the “worst time”, in an effort to “deliver maximum impact and damage” NHS,
“I think it’s irresponsible and I think it’s dangerous,” he said. sky NewsAdding: “Even now, if the BMA wants to reschedule to January, Government This will facilitate”.
However, the BMA has called on Mr Streeting to “stop fear-mongering”, accusing him of “exploiting the fears of patients and the public” and saying his focus should be on “putting an end to this”. strikes Overall and working with the resident doctors That’s all we have to do.”
Here’s everything you need to know about the controversy:
Why are resident doctors striking?
Resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, are qualified doctors in their first years of training. A fifth are completing their first two foundation years, while the remainder are in core or special registrar training.
The agreed salary for those on foundation training is between £38,831 and £44,439, with specialist training salaries rising to £73,992. This includes the 5.4 per cent increase given earlier this year, but does not include London’s weighting.
Resident doctor salaries have increased by almost 30 per cent over the past three years, including a 22.3 per cent increase since Labor came to power. However, the BMA says doctors need an additional 26 per cent rise over the next few years to restore their pay as inflation has seen a decline in real terms since 2008.
With the current 5.4 per cent rise, the BMA says doctors will not be able to restore their pay for 12 years, or 2036.
The BMA wants salaries to rise to between £47,308 and £54,274 for foundation doctors in the flexible negotiation period, and to a maximum of £90,989 for residents in specialist training at the highest end.
There are also calls from resident doctors to reduce competition for specialist training posts, with many struggling to find roles even if they have already worked in the NHS.
What did the government offer?
The government on Wednesday (10 December) offered the BMA to increase specialist training posts by 4,000 over the next three years, repurposed from existing roles.
In 2025, there were more than 30,000 applicants for 10,000 of these jobs, some of whom were foreign applicants.
The government’s offer also promised to give priority UK graduates for these roles, or who have already worked in the NHS, and to finance some of the expenses such as examination fees.
The offer did not include any pay increases, with Mr Streeting remaining adamant that he would not renegotiate salaries.
Resident doctors rejected the proposal by an overwhelming majority, 83 to 17 percent.
Dr Jack Fletcher, chairman of the BMA’s resident doctors’ committee, said: “Our members have considered the Government’s offer, and their fantastic response should leave the Health Secretary in no doubt how badly he has missed his opportunity to end industrial action.
“There are no new jobs in this proposal. They have simply gutted jobs that already existed for ‘new’ jobs on paper. Nor is the journey to restore our pay what Mr Streeting has said – there was nothing on that – which has clearly hit the buffers.”
Justifying the proposal, Mr Streeting said it would “halve the competition for jobs and put more money in the pockets of resident doctors, but the BMA has again rejected it because it does not meet their request for a 26 per cent pay rise.”
“The salaries of resident doctors have already increased by 28.9 per cent – there is no justification for going on strike just because this imaginary demand is not met.”