Call off doctor strike to continue talks, Streeting tells BMA

The Secretary of Health, Wes Street, wrote to the British Medical Association offering new conferences on better working conditions – but only if they cancel this week’s strike.

Street claims that the negotiations that started on Thursday were constructive – but with resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, due to the five -day exit on Friday, it urges them to postpone.

Many hospitals have delayed the cancellation of the meetings while the talks continue, but should start on Wednesday, so it is the last chance to stop a major disturbance.

The BBC understands that the BMA will meet to discuss their response.

A range of various problems not linked to payment has been discussed in the last five days after the streets have clearly indicated that he could not change wages.

This includes the government covering the cost of compulsory examination fees which can reach several thousand pounds during medical training and give doctors more control over their place during their first two years of training and more advice from Rotas.

Ways to accelerate the progress of the career after the first two years of training have also been discussed. Resident doctors can spend 10 years or more to training.

Student debts accumulated during five -year university courses, which for doctors can reach £ 100,000, have also been raised, but the government is unlikely to accept debt, even partially, despite reports last week.

Resident doctors obtained an average salary increase of 5.4% for this exercise, following an increase of 22% in the previous two years.

But the British Medical Association claims that wages are still around 20% lower in real terms in 2008 and require the “restoration of remuneration”.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “The letter from the Secretary of State to the resident doctoral committee of the BMA is the culmination of constructive conversations that have had in recent days.

“It is now up to the BMA to decide if they want to adopt the supply of additional discussions on the means of improving the working conditions of resident doctors if they postpone their damaging strike action which is scheduled for later this week.”

Earlier, the deputy chief of the BMA, Dr. Emma Runswick, told the BBC that the talks had been “constructive” and she said that she hoped that a solution could be found.

This occurs after the BMA said that the NHS in England put patients at risk of prejudice in the next strike.

The union estimates that the NHS England plan to limit the number of canceled routine treatments will extend senior doctors covering too finely resident doctors.

The NHS England has only ordered hospitals to cancel non -urgent care, such as hip and knee operations, in exceptional circumstances.

The deputy chief of the BMA, Dr. Emma Runswick, told the BBC that the risky plan to cause a multitude of last minute cancellations and “at worst could be a risk and lead to damage”.

“Senior doctors cannot be physically in two places,” said Dr. Runswick.

“We believe that the vast majority of planned and programmed care should be offset.”

During previous strikes in 2023 and 2024, non -urgent work was canceled in large quantities so that senior doctors can covered with emergency and urgent services.

This came after the NHS in England told hospitals that the reservations of reservations and appointments would be “unfortunately essential” to maintain safe care.

In some hospitals, up to half of the planned care has been canceled.

But this new approach is supervised by Sir Jim Mackey, who became managing director of NHS England in the spring after Amanda Pritchard resigned.

NHS sources in England said it was determined to minimize disturbances, stressing that the cancellation of non -urgent work is also risking patients.

Dr. Runswick also defended the sums invoiced by senior doctors for having covered resident doctors during the strike. The BMA suggested that the consultants charge more than £ 300 per hour for night quarters.

Dr. Runswick said that sometimes the NHS should “encourage” doctors to hide outside their normal work.