Resident doctors say they will resume talks to avoid further strikes with ‘can-do spirit’ | NHS

Resident doctors said they would approach negotiations with Wes Streeting with a “positive spirit” to avoid further strikes in the new year, as their five-day action ended on Monday morning.

The British Medical Association called on the health secretary to come to the table with the same “constructive” attitude, saying the tone of the 11-hour talks before they were halted had been encouraging but it was too late to avoid strike action in England.

Streeting also expressed his determination to return to negotiations, saying he “did not want to see a single day of industrial action in the NHS in 2026” and would “do everything in his power to make this a reality”.

“My door remains open, as it always has, and I am determined to resume discussions with the BMA in the new year to end these damaging cycles of disruption,” he said.

Streeting and Keir Starmer took a hard line on the strike, with the Prime Minister saying it was “beyond belief” that it should take place as the flu-hit NHS faced its worst crisis since Covid.

Andrea Egan, who will become Unison’s new general secretary next year, said it was unacceptable for Streeting to call the strike “morally reprehensible”. The Health Secretary also accused the BMA of acting like a cartel.

However, Streeting and the BMA appeared to adopt a more conciliatory tone as the five-day strike ended.

Negotiations between the government and the BMA have repeatedly broken down in recent months, with Streeting refusing to reopen wage negotiations and doctors demanding a “restoration of wages” to 2008 levels in real terms.

Instead, Streeting proposed a deal to create more training places to end the crisis of qualified doctors unable to find work after graduating. However, this offer was refused by BMA’s resident doctors, who voted to continue the strike from Wednesday last week until 7am on Monday.

Calling for “less name-calling and more negotiation” in 2026, Jack Fletcher, chairman of the resident doctors’ committee, said: “What we need is a proper solution to this jobs crisis and a credible path to restoring the lost value of the profession. That must mean creating real new jobs, and that could involve a responsible, multi-year approach to restoring doctors’ pay.”

“These are solutions that allow us to develop our future workforce to end the current crisis, solutions that are well within the government’s reach.”

He added: “Doctors are frustrated by the past year. Many strike opportunities have been averted, but too often the government has acted too little, too late.

“Nevertheless, the tone of the eleventh-hour conversations we had before these strikes has made us optimistic that the Government is finally understanding the frustrations of resident doctors in England. We are heading into the New Year with a renewed positive spirit and we hope Mr Streeting will do the same.”

Earlier, the Health Secretary said the NHS coped with the strike even though it coincided with the flu season, but he was concerned about the recovery period that followed.

On Monday morning, Streeting said “the double whammy of strike and flu in December posed the most serious threat to the NHS” since the election.

“The health service has only been able to get through this thanks to the extraordinary efforts of the dedicated staff who work there, and the toughest jobs will be in the weeks ahead as we help the NHS through the busiest weeks of the year,” he said.

“To everyone who has played a part in maintaining NHS services during this exceptionally difficult month, thank you for the real difference you have made.”