Next week’s strike by resident doctors in England could be averted after ministers offered a new deal to the British Medical Association.
The doctors union agreed to present the offer to its members in the coming days; If they support it, the five-day strike that began on Wednesday, December 17, could be canceled.
The offer includes a rapid expansion of specialist training positions, as well as coverage of out-of-pocket costs such as examination fees.
But it does not include any promise of extra payment. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has insisted he will not negotiate on this issue, given that resident doctors – the new name for junior doctors – have had pay rises of almost 30% in the last three years.
The deal also includes the introduction of emergency legislation so that the NHS can prioritize doctors who have studied and worked in the UK for specialist training roles which resident doctors move into in the third year of their training.
This year there was intense competition for these positions with 30,000 applicants for 10,000 positions. Some of them will have been foreign doctors who, under current rules, must be judged in the same way as UK doctors.
The number of specialized positions will also increase by 4,000, with the first 1,000 becoming available from next year.
The BMA will now consult doctors based in England on whether this offer would be enough to call off next week’s strike. An online survey will be conducted among members and will end on Monday, December 15.
If members indicate that it is sufficient to cancel these strikes, a formal resident doctors referendum would be held, giving members time to consider the details of the offer and whether to accept it and end the current dispute, the BMA said.
If the survey among members decides that suspending the strikes is not enough, they will be carried out as planned next week.
BMA resident doctors committee chair Dr Jack Fletcher said: “This offer is the result of thousands of resident doctors demonstrating that they are prepared to defend their profession and their future.
“I shouldn’t have called a strike, but let’s make no mistake: it was the strike that got us here.
“We have forced the government to recognize the magnitude of the problems and respond with measures on training and prioritization.
“However, this offer does nothing to restore doctors’ pay, something the government still has in its hands.”
