Resident medical doctors lose jobs package deal and can strike subsequent week
An offer of 1,000 extra training places has now been withdrawn, with the Health Department saying it is no longer ‘financially or operationally’ possible to deliver it
Resident doctors will be striking for six days from April 7(Image: GETTY)
Tens of thousands of resident doctors in England are set to stage a six-day walkout next week after crunch talks failed to avert strike action.
An offer of 1,000 extra training places has now been withdrawn, which was part of the Government deal on pay and jobs, with the Health Department saying it is no longer “financially or operationally” possible.
On Tuesday the PM gave the resident doctors committee of the British Medical Association (BMA) a 48-hour deadline to reconsider the Government’s deal on pay and jobs, which included the offer of extra NHS training posts.
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READ MORE: Keir Starmer gives resident doctors 48 hours to call off ‘reckless’ strikeREAD MORE: Doctors’ union planning six-day strike blasted over low pay deal
As the deadline approached, the BMA set out a list of demands for the Government which would need to be addressed for them to call off the strike.
Responding, a Department of Health 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% 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.”
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.”
