Resident doctors: Streeting begins talks to prevent further strikes

Personal talks have begun between the new Minister of Health and junior doctors who are dissatisfied with their pay.

Wes Streeting says the government can neither afford nor promise the 35 percent increase demanded by doctors, but hopes to settle the dispute.

However, there is renewed optimism about the possibility of an agreement to avoid further strikes and disruption for patients.

During the recent doctors’ strike earlier this month, tens of thousands of appointments were postponed.

There have already been eleven rounds of strike action by junior doctors in England, putting even more pressure on an already overstretched NHS, with more than seven million patients on waiting lists for treatment.

The doctors say their salaries have fallen in recent years due to inflation and are now demanding a raise to bring the salary back up to what they say they deserve.

They received an average increase of almost 9% in the last financial year.

Discussions last year with the British Medical Association, which represents junior doctors, about an additional 3% increase failed to reach agreement.

The company has now agreed to phase in the 35 percent pay rise after initially demanding a one-off increase, but the government is sticking to its position.

Mr Streeting told the Tony Blair Institute’s Future of Britain conference: “I think this is an important moment of new beginnings in the relationship between junior doctors and their government.”

Labour had made it clear in opposition that the wage demands were unaffordable – and “nothing has changed” in that regard.

Residents deserve respect and honesty with them is key.

The co-chairs of the BMA’s junior doctors committee, Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi, said: “Mr Streeting has said restoring pay will be a journey: we want to get started now.”

“We thank the Foreign Minister for the meeting and have agreed to meet again next week.”

Dr Laurenson added: “This was definitely a mutual conversation and I think it’s fair to say that we have no plans to call for strike action at this time.”

The new government faces a number of other explosive problems left behind by the Conservatives, Streeting said.

At the top of the list is reducing patient waiting times.

“Reducing wait times is my immediate focus and my top priority,” Streeting said.

Since December 2022, several NHS staff groups – including nurses, other medical groups, physiotherapists and paramedics – have been on strike. This has resulted in the postponement of almost 1.5 million appointments, procedures and operations at an estimated cost of more than £3 billion.