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Doctors in England will return to work on Monday after a planned five-day walkout over ongoing pay disputes.
The strike went ahead amid surging flu cases, and despite last-minute talks between the British Medical Association (BMA) and the government. BMA members rejected a new government offer that aimed to tackle issues with training and job security.
Speaking to the British Medical Journal on Friday, BMA resident doctor leader DR Jack Fletcher said doctors were being lost to other countries because “they will essentially pay me more and also treat me better.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he would like to see an end to the dispute by the new year.
Resident doctors, the new name for junior doctors, called for the government to provide a “genuinely long-term plan” to increase pay, and for more training places created for qualified doctors to specialise and progress their careers.
The doctors’ union said 65% of its members had participated in what was the 14th strike since March 2023.
The doctors’ union has argued that resident doctors’ pay is still a fifth lower than it was in 2008, due to inflation. This year, they received an average pay rise of 5.4%.
During a visit to an ambulance station in London last week, Streeting said: “I do want to end this dispute.
“I don’t want us to be locked in a bitter dispute, and I’m never going to shut the door to talks, and I will do my best to see if we can start 2026 off on a better foot.”
But, Streeting said, the BMA is “demanding an extra 26% on top of what we’ve already given”.
“That is not a figure that we can afford but we will get around the table with them again in the new year,” he added.
Health experts have warned that the impact of the strike will be felt into the new year “and beyond”.
Last week, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called the walkout “dangerous and utterly irresponsible” particularly during a record flu season for the start of winter.
During the walkout, the BMA said they would work with NHS bosses to ensure safety in hospitals and other parts of the health service.
While the NHS remains on high alert over flu, the surge in the virus is slowing for now at least. The BBC reported on Friday just over 3,000 patients were in hospital in England with the virus.
Meanwhile in Scotland, residential doctors are set to strike from 13 January to 17 January. It will be the first time NHS workers have staged a national walkout.
