Resident doctors across England will stage a five-day strike from 14 to 18 November after pay talks with the Government broke down
Resident doctors in England have confirmed a five-day strike from 14 to 18 November, following the breakdown of talks with the Government. The British Medical Association (BMA) says the unprecedented walk-out is a response to years of below-inflation pay rises and increasing workloads that have left many doctors “at breaking point.” The union is urging Health Secretary Wes Streeting to return to negotiations to prevent further disruption to NHS services, which are already under severe pressure.
Making the NHS fit for doctors and patients
Resident Doctor Committee chair Jack Fletcher hoped that the Government would recognise doctors’ concerns by providing a mandate for a multi-year pay deal or by agreeing to targeted in-year improvements to resident doctors’ pay.
He said, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have spent the last week in talks with the Government, pressing the health secretary to end the scandal of doctors going unemployed—a situation that cannot go on.
“We talked with the Government in good faith – keen for the health secretary to see that a deal that included 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.
“We hoped the Government would see that our asks are not just reasonable but are in the best interests of the public and our patients, and would also help stop our doctors leaving the NHS.
“Better employment prospects and restoring pay are a credible way forward that would work for doctors, work for the Government, and work for our patients. Sadly, while we want to get such a deal done, the Government seemingly does not, leaving us with little option but to call for strike action.”
Dr Fletcher added: “That is disappointing, but it is not irredeemable. Wes Streeting inherited an NHS in crisis, decades of underinvestment having left it in a state of disrepair, but restoring our pay over several years, along with concrete plans to create more jobs and training places, would go a long way towards the start of a new and better health service.
“We need the health secretary to step up, come forward with a proper offer on jobs, on pay. We need him to embrace change and make an NHS fit for doctors and fit for patients.”
Employment crisis in the NHS
A recent BMA survey of 4,401 resident doctors revealed that 34% of respondents say they have been unable to secure substantive employment or regular locum in time for August next year.
The UK Government pledged to create an additional 1,000 specialty training places, but doctors have warned that this increase is insufficient. Additionally, the Government declined to discuss pay solutions, despite doctors’ pay eroding by 21% since 2008.
Dr Fletcher said: “Sadly, the Government has not been willing to offer the kind of radical plan needed that would keep doctors in work and reduce waiting lists. Strike dates are the only possible outcome.
“That is disappointing, but it is not unrecoverable. After inheriting an NHS that is falling apart after decades of underinvestment, Mr Streeting has the opportunity to make a fix. A multi-year pay deal and a radical jobs plan can be the start of a new and better health service. And it is surely better than a future of yet more industrial action and longer waiting times for patients.”
