Preparations begin for 6-day NHS resident doctor strike

Resident doctors will begin their strike at 7am on Tuesday (April 7), which will run for six days until 7am on Monday (April 13).

Hospital teams across the country, including in York, say they will continue to “minimise” this disruption, with GP practices, NHS 111 and urgent and emergency care services continuing to be available throughout the industrial action.

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The NHS said that patients should attend planned medical appointments unless they have been contacted to reschedule.

The strike is expected to be “particularly challenging” for the NHS due to a short notice period and the timing of the strike, which falls during the Easter holiday.

“The government has the power to avert this strike action”, the BMA has said (Image: PA)

In a statement, leaders of the action, the British Medical Association (BMA), said: “The government has the power to avert this strike action – by coming back to the table with a credible offer on both jobs and pay.

“We remain willing and available to re-enter negotiations, but we are not willing to risk locking in further pay erosion.

“The government shifted the goalposts on pay at the 11th hour, leaving us with no option but to make ourselves heard from the picket line.”

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer gave the resident doctors committee of the BMA a 48-hour deadline to reconsider the government’s deal on pay and jobs, which included the offer of extra NHS training posts.

As the deadline approached, the BMA set out a list of demands for Government which would need to be addressed for them to call off the strike.

Wes Streeting had urged doctors to reconsider their industrial action (Image: PA)

Responding, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “It is disappointing that the BMA has decided to press ahead with strikes next week, despite conversations we have been having in recent days in a bid to protect the NHS from strikes.

“This government offered resident doctors a generous deal to improve their pay, career progression and working lives that would have seen resident doctors on average 35.2 per cent better off than they were four years ago.

“Because the BMA resident doctor committee has not agreed to call off these strikes and put an offer to members, we will now not be able to deliver the 1,000 extra training places which the BMA asked for.

“These posts would have gone live this month, but as systems now need to prepare for strikes and more uncertainty, it simply won’t be operationally or financially possible to launch these posts in April in time to recruit for this year – this won’t impact the overall number of resident doctors and the NHS will be there for patients when they need it.

“Our attention and that of leaders across the NHS is now on protecting patients, staff and our NHS by minimising disruption to the health service.”

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In a statement issued on Wednesday evening, Dr Jack Fletcher, chairman of the doctors’ committee, said: “It is not unexpected, but extremely disappointing to see the government has scrapped 1,000 new specialty training places at a time when doctors so urgently need more jobs and patients so desperately need more doctors.

“It is genuinely disheartening to be at this point after what had been constructive talks up until a few weeks ago when the government moved the goalposts.

“It is simply wrong that the development of the doctors of the future is being used as a pawn like this.

“We have consistently maintained that we are willing to postpone industrial action should a genuinely credible offer be provided.

“This remains the case now, up to, and throughout any period of industrial action.”

‘Longer waits expected’

A spokesperson for York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said: “During the strikes, there may be fewer doctors working than usual, and they will need to prioritise life-saving care.

“Less urgent cases may experience longer waits during strikes.

“The NHS is asking patients to choose services appropriately during industrial action and take simple steps to help ensure care is available to patients who need it most.

“This includes using 111 online as the first port of call for health needs, and as ever only using 999 if it is serious or life-threatening emergency.”