Resident doctors to proceed with strikes as talks stall

Resident doctors across England have confirmed they will go ahead with planned industrial action this week, following unsuccessful negotiations with the Government over pay and working conditions.

The announcement comes after the British Medical Association’s (BMA) Resident Doctors Committee (RDC) met on Tuesday to review a letter from Health Secretary Wes Streeting, which they concluded fell short of offering any substantive proposals.

Talks between the RDC and Government officials had been ongoing in recent days in an attempt to avoid further disruption.

However, the committee determined that the response from the Health Secretary did not contain sufficient movement on core issues, particularly pay restoration.

Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt, co-chairs of the RDC, said: “We have been in talks with Wes Streeting and with his officials over the last few days, trying urgently to reach a compromise that will allow us to call off industrial action.

“We have always said that no doctor wants to strike and all it would take to avoid it is a credible path to pay restoration offered by the Government.

“We came to talks in good faith, keen to explore real solutions to the problems facing resident doctors today.”

They added: “Unfortunately, we did not receive an offer that would meet the scale of those challenges. While we were happy to discuss non-pay issues that affect doctors’ finances we have always been upfront that this is at its core a pay dispute.