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Daily Mirror
29-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Doctors' strikes 'could last more than six months' as first NHS walkout ends
BStrike leaders from the British Medical Association staged a picket line at Health Secretary Wes Streeting's local hospital today amid renewed calls for pay talks Striking doctors have suggested walkouts could go on for more than six months if Wes Streeting does not make them an improved offer. Strike leaders staged a picket line at the Health Secretary's local hospital on the final day of a five-day strike. Resident doctors in the British Medical Association have voted to secure a legal mandate to strike until January 2026. The BMA's resident doctors committee co-chair Dr Ross Nieuwoudt was asked outside King George Hospital in Ilford, east London, whether strikes could go on after then into next year. He replied: "We are incredibly hopeful that Wes Streeting and the Government at large see sense and come to talk to us now so that doesn't even have to be a consideration. That would require a new ballot but we're hoping it doesn't have to get there at all. "All Wes Streeting needs to do is talk to us now; the door is open. That is the best-case scenario... for him to come and talk to us and resolve this dispute." The British Medical Association is holding out for a full return to 2008 levels of pay, arguing that by the Retail Price Index Measure of inflation their real terms salaries are down a fifth since then. Mr Streeting said last week that the BMA's resident doctors committee co-chairs had 'seriously underestimated me' after they ended last ditch talks to avert the strike. The Government has refused to budge on the headline pay rise of 5.4% - pointing out it is an above inflation deal for the second year running - but had been negotiating on other issues such as the cost of training. Speaking from the picket line no Tuesday, Dr Shivam Sharma, resident doctor in north London, said: 'We've had our pay cut by over a fifth but we don't see fewer patients, we don't do less work, in fact our work has become harder. What we're asking for is for a doctor who 's paid just over £18 an hour to be paid just over £22 an hour. 'We're not asking for this money in one go. We're asking for it over a number of years… So please Mr Streeting… do the right thing by everyone.' The BMA would not be drawn on whether and how quickly it will start planning more strikes. Its resident doctors committee co-chair Dr Melissa Ryan said: "There doesn't need to be a single day of strike action. Wes Streeting knows what he has to do. If he wants to resolve the dispute, he has to contact us and present a credible offer. "We do have a mandate that is going all the way into January but... it's a damn shame we have to do a single day of strike action and Mr Streeting can prevent that." NHS officials have pledged that cancelled bookings would be rescheduled within two weeks but warned of knock-on impacts for other patients. Dr Layla McCay, director of policy at NHS Confederation, said: "Resident doctors have recently had a very substantial increase in their pay and the Government has been pretty clear that at the moment, there isn't more money to be negotiated. Clearly the Government is quite keen to have those discussions about other non-pay factors, like workforce conditions. "I think that the hope of all healthcare leaders is that the BMA will get around the table with the Government and figure out a solution to this, because what absolutely nobody wants to see is any further cases of industrial action after this one." The BMA has also launched a "linked dispute" with the Government over a lack of places for doctors in training. The union said that this year there were more than 30,000 resident doctors applying for just 10,000 specialty training places. A poll by the union, conducted on 4,400 doctors over the last week, found that 52% of resident doctors completing their second year of training - when they enter specialty training - do not have substantive employment lined up from August. In a joint statement, co-chairs Dr Ross Nieuwoudt and Dr Melissa Ryan said: 'With more than six million patients on waiting lists in England, it's maddening that a third of resident doctors say they cannot get a job. Across the NHS, this means potentially thousands of UK doctors are left in employment limbo when patients desperately need their care. 'Commitments from the Government to address this don't go far enough or are too vague to convince us that they understand the gravity of the situation, so we're making clear that, alongside pay, we are entering a dispute and demanding action so that no UK-trained, capable, doctor is left underemployed in the NHS.'
Daily Mirror
28-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Nurses could join doctors in wave of new NHS strikes after key vote
The Royal College of Nursing is furious nurses have been awarded a lower pay deal than doctors and its members have voted whether to accept a 3.6% rise Nurses are expected to reject their pay deal which could lead to them joining doctors on strike amid the prospect of a series of NHS walkouts. The Royal College of Nursing's 'indicative vote' on their 3.6% pay award closed on Sunday and it will be confirmed this week that members voted 'overwhelmingly' to reject the deal, the Times reported. Nurses are furious that for the second year running they have been given less than resident doctors, who have been awarded 5.4%. Tuesday is the final day of resident doctors' five-day strike and their members in the British Medical Association have a legal mandate for six months of strike action until January. The RCN has previously labelled it 'grotesque' that nurses were again being awarded less than doctors for 2025/26. The indicative vote would need to be followed by a formal ballot for strike action which is likely to take place in autumn. However RCN leaders will use the ballot to demand urgent talks with Government to avoid a walkout. It is reportedly open to talks on wider pay structures and career progression, not just headline pay. A spokesman for the RCN said: "The results will be announced to our members later this week. As the largest part of the NHS workforce, nursing staff do not feel valued and the government must urgently begin to turn that around." Ambulance and other hospital staff in the GMB union voted to reject their own 3.6% pay award last week, with strike action now being considered. The BMA consultants' committee, representing more senior doctors currently covering for striking colleagues, is also holding an indicative vote over a 4% pay deal it described as an "insult". Resident doctors - formerly known as junior doctors - are demanding a commitment to a full return to 2008 levels of pay, arguing that by the Retail Price Index Measure of inflation their real terms salaries are down a fifth since then. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the BMA's resident doctors committee co-chairs 'have seriously underestimated me' after they walked out on last ditch talks to avert the five-day strike which started last Friday. Government sources have claimed the co-chairs appeared happy with a deal to postpone strikes, before announcing they would go ahead after going back to their full committee. The Guardian reports this deal would have involved hot meals when working overnight, some exam fees paid, funding for kit such as stethoscopes, improved mess rooms and changes to the way their postgraduate training rotations are organised. Footage taken by the Mirror shows co-chairs Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt being heckled - with a passer-by shouting "bol****s to you" - as they arrived at Parliament for talks a fortnight ago to discuss 'creative solutions' to the strike, such as reducing training expenses. Tom Dolphin, BMA council chair, said resident doctors' salaries should reflect their responsibility for making "life and death decisions", adding: "Even nurses who've had a pretty bad time [are] not as badly off as doctors in terms of lost pay." While the BMA is adamant headline pay must rise, nurses are reported to be more open to talks on wider pay structures. The RCN has repeatedly complained that nurses can remain on the lowest rung of the NHS pay scale for decades. Reforms could allow them to move up the scale sooner as they gain experience. The RCN last engaged in strike action in late December 2022 and early January 2023 under the previous Tory government. The union's online survey of 345,000 members in England Wales and Northern Ireland, which is due later this week, will reportedly show a 'clear' rejection of the 3.6% award. Speaking last month, RCN General Secretary Nicola Ranger said: 'It is a grotesque decision to again favour doctor colleagues for higher increases than nursing and the rest of the NHS.' Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has pledged to outlaw strikes by doctors, bringing them into line with the police and army, if she becomes prime minister. A Downing Street spokesman said: "We hugely value the vital role of nurses and their contribution to patient care. That's why we've delivered two above inflation pay increases in 10 months, meaning for the first time ever nurses starting salaries have risen to over £30,000. "We have been clear we can't move any further on headline pay but we are committed to working with the RCN to improve their major concerns, including pay structure reform, concerns over career progression and wider working conditions."
