Resident Doctors in England Announce Five-Day Strike Over Pay and Jobs

Resident doctors in England are set to stage a five-day strike next month, the British Medical Association (BMA) announced.

The industrial action, scheduled from 14 to 19 November, comes amid ongoing disputes with the government over pay and job shortages. Resident doctors—formerly known as junior doctors—represent roughly half of all NHS doctors.

Dr. Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee, urged Health Secretary Wes Streeting to present “a genuine offer” addressing pay and employment concerns.

“This is not where we wanted to be,” Dr. Fletcher said, noting that the committee had spent the past week in discussions with the government, urging them to tackle the issue of unemployed doctors. He cited a BMA survey showing that half of second-year doctors are struggling to secure jobs, despite hospitals facing staffing shortages and long patient waiting lists.

Dr. Fletcher added that while the BMA remains ready to negotiate, the lack of government commitment has forced their hand. “Wes Streeting inherited an NHS weakened by decades of underinvestment,” he said. “But restoring pay levels and creating more jobs and training opportunities would mark the beginning of a stronger, fairer health service.”

In response, Wes Streeting called the strike “damaging” and accused the BMA of acting prematurely. “It’s absurd that the BMA has rushed into more disruptive strike action just a week after beginning talks,” he said, urging the association to “call off these needless strikes and return to negotiations.”

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch also condemned the walkout, reiterating her party’s stance to ban strike action by doctors, similar to existing restrictions on the police and armed forces. “We need consistent healthcare delivery,” she said, criticizing Labour for scrapping legislation on minimum service levels.

Daniel Elkeles, CEO of NHS Providers, described the planned strike as “the last thing the NHS needs” ahead of a difficult winter season. “Hospital leaders will do all they can to manage the disruption, but once again it’s patients who will suffer the most,” he said.

The BMA maintains that doctors’ pay has fallen sharply since 2008, demanding a 29.2% pay increase to reverse what it calls years of “pay erosion.”