Resident doctors call off four-day strike after new government pay offer
Resident doctors in England have called off a planned four-day walkout after ministers came back with a fresh offer, according to Sky News. The British Medical Association confirmed the action will no longer go ahead next week.
The strike had been due to begin in the coming days and would have piled fresh pressure on NHS waiting lists. Trusts had already started warning patients that routine operations and outpatient appointments could be cancelled or rescheduled.
The BMA said it was prepared to pause after the government tabled a revised proposal. The union has not yet published the full detail of what was put on the table, but said it was enough to suspend industrial action while members consider the package.
Resident doctors, the group formerly known as junior doctors, make up a large slice of frontline hospital staff. They cover everything from A&E shifts to ward rounds and have been at the centre of a pay dispute that has rumbled on for the best part of two years.
Health bosses welcomed the climbdown. Hospitals across England had been bracing for a difficult week, with senior consultants pencilled in to plug gaps and emergency departments expected to feel the strain.
Patients waiting for surgery or specialist clinics will be the immediate winners. Tens of thousands of appointments were postponed during previous rounds of strikes, and trusts have spent months trying to claw back the backlog.
It is not yet clear whether the new offer will be enough to end the dispute for good. Members will get the final say in a vote, and the BMA has warned that further action remains on the table if talks break down again.
For now, ministers will be quietly relieved. The Health Secretary has been under pressure to bring stability back to the health service, and avoiding another bruising walkout buys time to focus on waiting times and winter planning.
Wake Up News covers the money side of British life. Bills, benefits, pensions, tax and the political decisions behind them, written plainly for readers who want to know what it costs them.
Wake Up News covers the money side of British life. Bills, benefits, pensions, tax and the political decisions behind them, written plainly for readers who want to know what it costs them.
Wake Up News covers the money side of British life. Bills, benefits, pensions, tax and the political decisions behind them, written plainly for readers who want to know what it costs them.
Wake Up News covers the money side of British life. Bills, benefits, pensions, tax and the political decisions behind them, written plainly for readers who want to know what it costs them.
Wake Up News covers the money side of British life. Bills, benefits, pensions, tax and the political decisions behind them, written plainly for readers who want to know what it costs them.
