DOCTORS WEIGH OFFER AHEAD OF STRIKE – Resident doctors to decide Monday if new deal halts five-day Christmas week walkout
The British Medical Association says it will put Wes Streeting’s latest offer to resident doctors to a member vote.
Hospital leaders have welcomed the government’s move as a “huge step,” after the health secretary pledged to double the number of specialist training places for early-career doctors. It’s a last-minute attempt to avert next week’s five-day strike.
The BMA calls the offer a “mixed bag” — noting it does nothing to address pay, including doctors’ demand for a 26% rise to reverse years of pay erosion. But the union says the proposal contains enough significant measures to warrant consultation.
NHS England warns the service is entering a “worst-case scenario” for December, with an average of 2,660 patients a day now in hospital with flu — the highest figure ever recorded for this time of year.
If a simple majority of resident doctors vote to pause industrial action, next week’s strike will be called off. But BMA leaders caution that many members may still reject the deal, saying it “does absolutely nothing on pay.”
