Resident Doctors in England Balloted for Further Strike Action Amid 4% Pay Rise Offer

Residents in England are preparing for further strike action as a ballot for industrial action closed on July 7, following the Government's recent pay offer of a 4% increase for most doctors, with £750 additional for resident doctors. The British Medical Association (BMA), representing doctors, argues that this increase is insufficient to address the impact of previous pay freezes. The union is urging members to vote for strike action, emphasizing that negotiations with the Government remain a possibility.

Key Takeaways:

• The Government's 4% pay rise offer for most doctors, with an additional £750 for resident doctors, has been met with criticism by the British Medical Association (BMA), which argues it does not do enough to restore doctors' pay after previous salary freezes.
• The BMA's junior doctor committee co-chairs, Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt, have urged doctors to vote yes to strike action, stating that the NHS does not have time to wait for pay restoration, with high waiting lists, patients being treated in corridors, and a need to keep doctors in their careers, not in 10 or 20 years' time.
• The pay increase, recommended by an independent pay review body, is above the rate of inflation, which has jumped to 3.5% in April, but Professor Philip Banfield, the BMA's chairman of council, warned that this does not address the pay erosion of the past 16 years.
• Health Secretary Wes Streeting has urged junior doctors to vote no and "work with the government", warning that strikes could put efforts to rebuild the NHS at risk.
• Resident doctor members of the BMA have taken industrial action 11 times since 2022, leading to almost 1.5 million appointments being cancelled or rescheduled.
• The BMA is urging members to negotiation with the Government to achieve a more substantial pay restoration.

Statistics:

• 4% pay rise offer for most doctors, with an additional £750 for resident doctors
• 23% decline in doctors' pay in real terms since 2008
• Over 200,000 reduction in waiting lists in the past ten months through the Plan for Change
• £38,800 average starting salary for a full-time Resident Doctor, up nearly £9,500 since 2022-23
• £5.4% above-inflation average pay award
• 28.9% pay increase for resident doctors compared to three years ago
• 1.5 million appointments cancelled or rescheduled due to previous strikes

Sources:

• BMA (British Medical Association)
• PA Archive
• PA
• BBC