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The Prime Minister has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the British Medical Association (BMA), urging the union to call off a six-day strike planned to take place in England after Easter. If the strike proceeds, the government warns that 1,000 additional training positions for doctors will be withdrawn. This comes amid ongoing tensions stemming from a prolonged dispute between doctors and the government.
In a piece published in The Times, the Prime Minister criticized the BMA’s recent choice to reject a government pay offer and to initiate what would be the 15th strike related to the dispute. He described this action as “reckless,” expressing frustration that the union made the decision without putting the offer to a vote among resident doctors themselves. The BMA had announced the strike despite news that doctors would receive a 3.5% pay increase this year, a recommendation from the independent pay review body.
The union argues that the planned pay rise falls short in the face of rising inflation, which has been exacerbated by conflict involving Iran, and highlights that resident doctors’ salaries have not kept pace with inflation since 2008. The training posts at risk—the 1,000 extra positions scheduled to be introduced this year—are part of a broader initiative planned to create at least 4,000 new specialty training posts over the next three years, contingent on the deal being accepted. Other elements of the government’s proposal include covering doctors’ out-of-pocket expenses such as exam fees and accelerating progression through the five pay bands for resident doctors.
Discussions between the government and the BMA have been ongoing since early January, following strikes in the preceding months of November and December. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has maintained that further pay increases are not feasible after resident doctors received nearly a 30% increase over the past three years. The looming strike is scheduled to start at 7:00 BST on Tuesday and will match the longest strike by resident doctors in this dispute, lasting six days. Resident doctors account for nearly half of the NHS medical workforce, with two-thirds being members of the BMA. The union also raises concerns about a shortage of specialist training jobs, pointing out that last summer, about 30,000 applicants competed for roughly 10,000 training positions, a situation that training expansion aims to address
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