Public is fed up of striking medics and support for a future walk out of junior doctors over pay plummets after last year's bumper wage rises
Militant resident doctors have lost public support for strikes after pocketing inflation-busting pay-rises, a survey reveals.
The medics, previously known as junior doctors, are demanding a further 30 per cent uplift despite seeing their wages jump by 22.3 per cent last year.
They have crippled the NHS by taking industrial action 11 times since 2022, forcing health bosses to cancel an estimated 1.5million appointments.
But the British Medical Association is now threatening further walkouts unless health secretary Wes Streeting caves in again.
It comes as a new YouGov poll of 4,100 British adults found half (48 per cent) oppose the industrial action, while 39 per cent support it.
The pollsters said this 'marks a shift in opinion' since last summer, when the majority of the public (52 per cent) backed the medics.
It highlighted how Labour supporters are most supportive of strike action, with Conservatives expressing the strongest opposition.
The Patients Association said it is 'deeply concerned' about the prospect of further walkouts.
It added: 'Strike action causes significant distress, pain and worsening health for patients, while placing additional pressure on remaining NHS staff.
'This comes at a time when public confidence in the NHS is already fragile.
'The latest British Social Attitudes survey reveals that just over 1 in 5 (21 per cent) of British adults are satisfied with the way the NHS runs, the lowest level since records began.
'Further disruption risks damaging public confidence even more.'
Former Conservative health minister Edwina Currie today told Times Radio the co-chairs of the BMA's resident doctors' committee 'are not the kind of people you would want to be telling you that you've got cancer'.
She added: 'I don't think you can give in to them. I really don't.
'I don't think the government should have given in to them last summer because, if you give in to strikers, all you're doing is inviting more strikes, which is exactly where we're at.
'They are amongst the best paid public servants in the country. They don't get quite as much as the consultants who are all on over a hundred thousand a year, but they are on seriously good money.
'And if all they're interested in is putting patients in pain, particularly older people; if all they're interested in doing is putting patients in pain so they can put more money in their pocket, they are the wrong people to be doctors.'
Ministers announced last week that most doctors would receive a 4 per cent pay rise, with resident doctors given an extra £750 on top - equivalent to an average of 5.4 per cent.
It means resident doctors have seen their pay jump by 28.9 per cent in just three years.
Meanwhile, other NHS workers in England, including nurses, midwives and physiotherapists, will receive just a 3.6 per cent pay increase, effective from April 1.
The BMA opened a ballot this week, urging resident doctors to support up to six months of strikes from this July to January next year.
Tory MP Edward Argar, the party's shadow health and social care secretary, told the Mail: 'We warned Labour that giving in to union demands on above-inflation pay rises with no strings attached last year would only see them coming back for more.
'Now we see the threat of a summer of discontent and a summer of strikes at risk of becoming a reality.'
Resident doctors said their pay has declined by '23 per cent in real terms since 2008'.
Mr Streeting said on Tuesday: 'I understand the anxiety and anger that resident doctors have felt and continue to feel about their part of the profession – over 14 years, they saw the NHS that they were working in slide into crisis.
'That's why, within weeks of coming into office, I was determined to resolve the pay dispute and give resident doctors a substantial pay rise.'
Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt, co-chairs of the BMA resident doctors committee, said in a statement: 'Patients are all too aware how much the NHS relies on its resident doctors.
'With the announcement of yesterday's ballot, many will understandably be concerned about how future strike action might affect them getting care but it's important to stress that strike action is not inevitable and can be avoided.
'The Government has the power to honour its previous commitment to map out and restore doctors' pay, avoiding strikes entirely.
'We're confident that patients will recognise that the value of doctors has not diminished since 2008, but that working conditions and pay have.
'Wes Streeting must now step forward with a solution that allows us to stay with our patients, off the picket lines, and remain in this country rather than being driven to seek work abroad where doctors' unique skills and expertise are more appropriately valued.
'As the population ages and care becomes more complex, we need to make sure we retain doctors in the UK.'
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