UK DOCTORS VOTE TO CONTINUE INDUSTRIAL ACTION- British Medical Association says a deal is there to be done

Resident doctors in England have voted to strike for another six months in their long-running jobs and pay dispute with the government. Their decision means that, unless an agreement emerges, the campaign of strikes by resident doctors will enter its fourth year, as the industrial action began in March 2023.

The British Medical Association (BMA) said 93% of the resident doctors who voted in their latest strike ballot endorsed holding a further series of stoppages. In all, 26,696 of the 28,598 resident doctors who took part backed continuing industrial action – a 53% turnout.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) highlighted that this was the lowest turnout yet seen in the five strike ballots held as part of the action. It was about a third lower than the 78% turnout in early 2023.

The ballot results showed that less than half the BMA’s total number of resident doctor members – 49% – had voted to strike, down 0.7% on their previous ballot. Each of the five-day strikes that resident doctors have undertaken have brought significant disruption to NHS services and cost the service an estimated £250m.

Matthew Taylor, the interim chief executive of the NHS Confederation and NHS Providers, said doctors should “reflect on the impact of further industrial action on patients, and the existing difficult financial backdrop, before staging more walkouts.