Resident doctors will go on strike between 25 July and 30 July in their dispute with the government over pay, the British Medical Association has said.
Announcing strike dates across England, the BMA said it was giving the health secretary, Wes Streeting, two weeks to come to the table to negotiate “a path to pay restoration”.
Resident doctors are scheduled to strike from 7am on 25 July to 7am on 30 July. The BMA resident doctors committee co-chairs, Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt, said in a statement they had had a meeting with Streeting but the government would not move on pay.
It said: “We met Wes Streeting yesterday and made every attempt to avoid strike action by opening negotiations for pay restoration. Unfortunately, the government has stated that it will not negotiate on pay, wanting to focus on non-pay elements without suggesting what these might be. Without a credible offer to keep us on the path to restore our pay, we have no choice but to call strikes.
“No doctor wants to strike, and these strikes don’t have to go ahead. If Mr Streeting can seriously come to the table in the next two weeks we can ensure that no disruption is caused. The government knows what is needed to avert strikes. The choice is theirs.”
It comes after Streeting said people “will not forgive” strike action by resident doctors. He wrote in the Times that such action would be a “disaster” for BMA members and for patients, saying the government could not afford more pay rises.
He said: “I urge the BMA, even at this late stage, to reconsider this deeply damaging course of action. Work with a government that actually wants to work with you: to improve working conditions for staff and care for patients. The public will not forgive strike action in these circumstances and nor will I.”
About 90% of voting resident doctors backed strike action, with the BMA reporting a turnout of 55%.
The union has said that resident doctors need a 29.2% rise to reverse “pay erosion” since 2008-09.
A No 10 spokesperson said: “We aren’t going to reopen negotiations on pay. Resident doctors have received the highest pay award across the public sector for two years in a row, and we’ve been clear that we can’t be more generous than we already have this year.”
Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, has said: “A return to industrial action would be a huge setback – bad for patients, for staff and for the NHS.”
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In September, BMA members voted to accept a government pay deal worth 22.3% on average over two years.
Under the 2025-26 pay deal, resident doctors received a 4% rise plus £750 “on a consolidated basis”, working out as an average pay rise of 5.4%.
The BMA call for a 29.2% increase is based on retail prices index inflation, the measure of average changes in the price of goods and services used by most households.