𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Doctors have confirmed they will go on strike for five days from Friday after crunch talks failed. Health Secretary Wes Streeting failed to make a “significant” offer to avert the walkout, the British Medical Association said.

The union said a letter to their resident doctors committee (RDC) from Mr Streeting “did not go far enough to warrant calling off the strikes”. They will stage a full walk out from 7am on Friday 25 July until 7am on Wednesday 30 July.

RDC co-chairs Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt said: “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.

“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.”

Up to 50,000 resident doctors in England, formerly known as junior doctors, are expected to join the industrial action.

They are demanding a 29% pay rise.

Resident doctors were awarded an average 5.4% pay rise for this financial year, following a 22% increase over the previous two years.

But the BMA says wages are still around 20% lower in real terms than in 2008 and are demanding “pay restoration”.