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Doctors in England who are planning to strike in the days leading up to Christmas are now reviewing a fresh government proposal aimed at ending the prolonged dispute.
Resident doctors — previously known as junior doctors — are scheduled to walk out from 7am on 17 December until 7am on 22 December.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has urged doctors to accept the government’s latest offer. The British Medical Association (BMA) will poll its members online to determine whether the new package is sufficient to suspend next week’s planned five-day strike. The survey will close on Monday, just two days before the industrial action is due to begin.
The revised offer includes new legislation prioritising UK medical graduates for specialty training places. It also promises a major expansion of specialty training posts, rising from 1,000 to 4,000 over the next three years, with additional posts starting in 2026. Funding to cover compulsory Royal College exam and membership fees for resident doctors is also included.
However, the deal does not meet doctors’ demands for a 26% pay rise to reverse real-terms losses since 2008, in addition to the 28.9% increase granted over the past three years.
Streeting cautioned that a strike over Christmas would pose far greater risks than previous walkouts, particularly as the NHS faces mounting pressure from a surge of illnesses and a highly infectious new flu strain that has driven record numbers of patients into emergency care.
Although the union's strike mandate is due to expire soon, Streeting offered to extend it so that action could continue into January if the deal is rejected — a move the BMA declined, which he called “inexplicable.”
NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey recently criticised the planned strike as “cruel” and “calculated to cause mayhem” during an already critical period for the health service.
Dr Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee, said the new offer reflects the strength of the doctors’ collective action. While welcoming the government’s steps on training capacity and prioritisation, he emphasised that the proposal does not increase the overall medical workforce or address pay restoration, which he said remains firmly within the government’s control.
