Doctor strikes: Dates, how NHS services will be affected and latest advice

Resident doctors in England confirmed this week they will be taking five days of industrial action after talks with the Government broke down. Negotiations had been ongoing between doctors’ union the BMA and Health Secretary Wes Streeting over pay and non-pay issues such as student debt and career progression. But they came to an end and the strike was confirmed on Tuesday, after the BMA said the Health Secretary’s letter to the Resident Doctors Committee (RDC) “did not go far enough to warrant calling off strikes, lacking any substantive proposal on both pay and non pay elements.” Streeting said the BMA had “recklessly and needlessly opted for strike action”. (Photo: Peter Nicholls/Getty)

When are resident doctors striking?

Resident doctors will be going on strike from 7am on Friday 25 July until 7am on Wednesday 30 July. Up to 50,000 resident doctors – formerly known as junior doctors – are expected to walk out in what will be the 12th strike since March last year. Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt, BMA resident doctors committee co-chairs, said: “We have always said that no doctor wants to strike and all it would take to avoid it is a credible path to pay restoration offered by the Government. “We came to talks in good faith, keen to explore real solutions to the problems facing resident doctors today. Unfortunately, we did not receive an offer that would meet the scale of those challenges.” Doctors are calling for a 29.2 per cent pay rise, which they say will bring salaries back in line with 2008 levels. They also want changes on non-pay issues such as the cost of mandatory exam fees, a student loan forgiveness scheme for doctors – who can accrue debts of up to £100,000 during university – and a means of speeding up career progression. (Photo: Jordan Pettitt/PA)

Wes Streeting's reaction

The Health Secretary said: “All of my attention will be now on averting harm to patients and supporting NHS staff at work. After a 28.9% pay hike in the last three years and the highest pay rise in the public sector two years in a row, strike action is completely unjustified, completely unprecedented in the history of British trade unionism and shows a complete disdain for patients and the wider recovery of the NHS.” (Photo: Leon Neal/Getty)

How will NHS services be affected, and what is the advice for patients?

NHS England has said hospitals and local teams have been preparing for the latest round of strikes and plans are in place to “minimise disruption to patient care and ensure life-saving care continues.” It said it had asked hospital chief executives to keep routine operations going to the fullest extent possible during the industrial action and only reschedule appointments and other activity in exceptional circumstances to safeguard patient safety. Patients are advised to continue to attend any planned appointments they have scheduled over the strike period unless they have been contacted to reschedule. Primary, urgent and emergency care services will continue to be available and the public should use 111 online as the first port of call for urgent but not life-threatening issues during industrial action. Patients who need emergency medical care should continue to call 999 or attend A&E departments as normal. Professor Meghana Pandit, NHS England’s national medical director, said: “There is no doubt this industrial action will take a toll on patients and NHS staff, and it is disappointing it is going ahead. “While it will mean some appointments won’t be able to go ahead as planned, we are doing all we can to limit this, and patients should continue to use NHS services in the usual way. “The public should dial 999 in an emergency, and otherwise use 111 online, your local pharmacist or GP, and patients should attend NHS appointments unless told otherwise.” (Photo: Peter Nicholls/Getty)

Why are junior doctors now called resident doctors?

Junior doctors became known as resident doctors from 18 September 2024. The change in title came after the junior doctors conference voted to abolish the term “junior doctor” in April 2023 on the grounds it implies doctors at this level are students, apprentices and not fully qualified. It was agreed the term should be changed by the wider BMA in July 2023. A survey of all junior doctor members in the UK in February 2024 approved the change to “resident” doctor. The name resident doctor was chosen because the BMA said “it avoids confusion with other colleagues, doesn’t imply a lack of qualifications, and is snappy enough to be used day-to-day”. The term is already used in the US, Canada, the Philippines, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Spain and Australia. (Photo: sturti/Getty)