Patients face NHS chaos as resident doctors announce exact date of strikes

Resident doctors will strike for five days from 7am on July 25 to 7am on July 30, the British Medical Association has announced.

The band of medics - previously known as junior doctors- have demanded Health Secretary Wes Streetingcome to the negotiating table "in the next two weeks" to avoid major disruption. The move could trigger chaos for patients who face having their appointments cancelled or delayed.

Bitter relations between the former Tory Government saw resident doctors take major industrial action over 2023-2024. They stages 11 strikes, totalling 44 days, in one of the longest running disputes in the NHS's history. The walk outs led to 1.5 million appointments, procedures and operations being cancelled or delayed.

In a statement, BMA resident doctors committee co-chairs Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt said: "We met Wes Streeting yesterday and made every attempt to avoid strike action by opening negotiations for pay restoration. Unfortunately, the Government has stated that it will not negotiate on pay, wanting to focus on non-pay elements without suggesting what these might be. Without a credible offer to keep us on the path to restore our pay, we have no choice but to call strikes.

READ MORE: Resident doctors vote in favour of strike action sparking chaos for NHS

"No doctor wants to strike, and these strikes don't have to go ahead. If Mr Streeting can seriously come to the table in the next two weeks we can ensure that no disruption is caused. The Government knows what is needed to avert strikes. The choice is theirs."

It comes after Mr Streeting warned that the public "will not forgive" strike action by resident doctors. He wrote in The Times that walkouts would be a "disaster" for BMA members and patients, saying the Government "can't afford" more pay rises.

He said: "I urge the BMA, even at this late stage, to reconsider this deeply damaging course of action. Work with a Government that actually wants to work with you: to improve working conditions for staff and care for patients. The public will not forgive strike action in these circumstances and nor will I."

Some 90% of voting resident doctors backed strike action, with the BMA reporting a turnout of 55%. The union has said that resident doctors need a pay uplift of 29.2% to reverse "pay erosion" since 2008/09.

Yesterday, a Number 10 spokesman said: "We aren't going to reopen negotiations on pay. Resident doctors have received the highest pay award across the public sector for two years in a row, and we've been clear that we can't be more generous than we already have this year."

Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, has said: "A return to industrial action would be a huge setback - bad for patients, for staff and for the NHS."

In September, BMA members voted to accept a Government pay deal worth 22.3% on average over two years. The 2025/26 pay deal saw resident doctors given a 4% uplift plus £750 "on a consolidated basis" - working out as an average pay rise of 5.4%.

The BMA call for a 29.2% uplift is based on Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation, the measure of average changes in the price of goods and services used by most households.

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