Doctors vote to go ahead with five-day strike in England this week

This week’s five-day doctor strike in England will go ahead despite a new offer from the government.

The British Medical Association said 83% of its members had voted to continue with the walkout in an online poll over the weekend. Turnout was 65%.

The union agreed to the snap poll last week after the government came forward with a fresh deal which included increasing speciality training posts and covering out-of-pocket expenses like exam fees.

The strike by resident doctors, the new name for junior doctors, is due to start at 07:00 on Wednesday with Health Secretary Wes Streeting warning it was “irresponsible and dangerous” given the pressure hospitals are under with flu.

The offer did not include any promises on pay – Streeting has maintained he will not negotiate on that after resident doctors pay has been increased by nearly 30% in the past three years.

The union argues that, despite the pay rises, resident doctors’ pay is still a fifth lower than it was in 2008, once inflation is taken into account.

Streeting said the pay demands were “fantasy”.

And he added: “The BMA has chosen Christmas strikes to inflict damage on the NHS at the moment of maximum danger. These strikes are self-indulgent, irresponsible and dangerous.”

He said he hoped resident doctors would still go to work, saying there was a different magnitude of risk striking at this moment.

Data shows the number of patients in hospital with flu had risen by more than 50% in a week, topping 2,600 in the first week of December, with officials warning there is still no sign of it peaking yet.

Flu came early this winter, and it looks to be a particularly nasty season.

The strain that is circulating is H3N2, which tends to cause more severe illness, and it has mutated somewhat with fears people may have less immunity.

This will be the 14th strike in the long-running dispute which began in March 2023.

Resident doctors, which represent nearly half the medical workforce, will walk out of both emergency and non-urgent care. Senior doctors will be drafted in to provide cover.

BMA resident doctor leader Dr Jack Fletcher said the “resounding response” should leave the health secretary in no doubt about how badly he has just fumbled his opportunity to end industrial action.

“Tens of thousands of front-line doctors have come together to say ‘no’ to what is clearly too little, too late,” he added.

He said any solution had to address pay.

But he added the union was “committed to ensuring patient safety” and would be in close contact with NHS England throughout the strike to address concerns as they arise.

Rory Deighton, of the NHS Confederation, which represents hospitals, said: “It’s bitterly disappointing that the BMA has rejected this offer and chosen to continue with hugely disruptive strikes.

“These strikes come at the worst possible time, with rapidly rising flu levels putting huge strain on hospitals.”

If BMA members had voted in not to continue with this week’s strike, that would then have triggered a new survey on the actual deal that the government had put forward last week.

Only if they voted in favour of that would the dispute have ended.