Union and government restarting talks to end doctor dispute

The government and the British Medical Association will resume talks in the coming days to end a long-running dispute over resident doctors in England.

It comes after BMA leaders met Health Minister Wes Streeting on Tuesday following a five-day strike at the end of July.

The BMA said it had agreed to a “window for negotiations”. This is understood to mean a series of talks will be held over the coming weeks and no more strikes will be called during this time.

Streeting said last week he was willing to meet again but would not negotiate over pay because resident doctors (the new title for junior doctors) have received pay rises of almost 30% over the past three years.

Previous talks held before July's five-day strike, the 12th since March 2023, focused on career advancement, working conditions such as rotation, and personal expenses such as exam fees.

The BMA said Tuesday's meeting was “informative” and both sides had reached “greater understanding” than previously.

The union said it wants to work with the government on non-wage issues, but changes will still need to be made on wages in the future.

The union claims that despite the pay rise, resident doctors' pay is still a fifth lower than in 2008 when inflation is taken into account.

BMA resident physician committee co-chairs Dr Ross Nieuwoudt and Dr Melissa Ryan said: “We have agreed a window for negotiations which we hope the Government will use wisely.

“We are working to ensure that the strike does not happen again and we will have time to find solutions. However, both doctors and patients deserve a solution sooner rather than later.”

They also said they want the government to address the shortage of jobs after the second year of training, when resident doctors enter specialty training.

This year there were more than 30,000 applicants for 10,000 jobs at this stage, although some will be doctors from overseas.

Resident doctors make up almost half of the medical staff and range from doctors fresh out of university to doctors with decades of experience.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said Tuesday's meeting was “constructive” and that the government would “continue to engage throughout the summer to prevent further disruption to the NHS and patients.”

But she added: “We have been clear that we cannot go further on salary this year, but there is a general desire to examine and address some of the unique additional costs that resident physicians incur as part of their training and work.”