Health Secretary Wes Streeting has accused resident doctors of squandering the "considerable goodwill" they had with Government after staging five days of strikes across England. The Cabinet minister said he is willing to meet with the British Medical Association (BMA) to resume talks in their ongoing dispute over pay and working conditions.
Streeting said he "never left" the negotiating table and had outlined a package that "could bring an end to this dispute" following previous talks. However, he accused the union of "rushing" to strike action instead of continuing negotiations.
Government criticises strike decision
In a letter to BMA resident doctors committee co-chairs Dr Ross Nieuwoudt and Dr Melissa Ryan, Streeting wrote: "Thank you for your letter of 29 July inviting me to get back to the negotiation table, which is ironic because I never left." He described the decision to proceed with strike action as "deeply disappointing and entirely unnecessary".
The Health Secretary said the strikes had caused "a detrimental impact on patients, your members, your colleagues and the NHS". He added that the action had been "self-defeating" because it squandered goodwill with the Government.
Pay talks remain off table
Streeting reiterated that the Government "cannot move on pay" but is "prepared to negotiate on areas related to your conditions at work, career progression and tangible measures which would put money in your members' pockets". He acknowledged a second dispute about a lack of training places for doctors but said this could have been "avoided".
The minister said his "door remains open" and offered to meet with union representatives early next week. He expressed hope that they could "still build the partnership with resident doctors I aspired to when I came in a year ago".
Union calls for serious negotiations
In response, the co-chairs of the BMA resident doctors committee said: "Resident doctors want this to have been their last strike. We are asking Mr Streeting to leave the political rhetoric behind and put the future of the NHS first." They criticised the minister for not making a "credible offer" last week, saying he had only offered "more talks".
The union representatives welcomed Streeting's openness to new talks, stating: "We're glad to hear Mr Streeting is open to new talks. Let's make them count." They called for the Government to "get serious" about resolving the dispute.
Strike impact expected to be lower
Details on the number of appointments, procedures and operations postponed as a result are expected to be published later this week. It is expected that fewer patients were affected compared to previous strikes after hospitals were ordered to press ahead with as much pre-planned care as possible during the walkout across England, which ended at 7am on Wednesday.
Hospital leaders said that fewer resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, took to picket lines in the latest walkout compared to those which took place previously. In previous walkouts, the majority of non-urgent care was postponed.
Previous strikes caused major disruption
Strikes across various NHS staff groups between 2022 and 2024 led to 1.5 million cancellations. NHS officials have said cancelled bookings would be rescheduled within two weeks, but warned of knock-on impacts for other patients.
The five-day strike marked the latest escalation in the long-running dispute between the Government and resident doctors over pay and working conditions. Both sides now appear willing to return to negotiations despite the recent breakdown in talks.
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
