British Medical Association: Resident doctors in England to vote on strike action over pay and working conditions

The British Medical Association (BMA) said the decision was made after it had received no “reasonable, timely pay offer” from the Government. The ballot is set to open on May 27 and will run until July 7.

“Resident doctor” is the new term adopted by the BMA for what was previously known as "junior doctor." It refers to more than 50,000 qualified doctors currently working in GP practices and hospitals across England, ranging from recent medical graduates to those with up to 10 years of experience.

In a joint statement, co-chairs of the BMA’s resident doctors’ committee, Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt, said: “Today we met with Wes Streeting and made clear that all he would have to do to avoid the need for a ballot was pledge to negotiate a fair deal that moved us toward pay restoration by 2027, in line with existing BMA policy.

“Unfortunately, he could not make this commitment. Resident doctors are not going to be ignored. We are going to stand up for our value to the NHS and to patients, and we are going to fight to stay on the path set out for us by last year’s deal: restoration of our pay to the level of 2008.

“No doctor today is worth less than they were 17 years ago, and that is precisely what doctors voting ‘yes’ to industrial action will be telling the Government.

“We don’t want to be in the situation where we have to fight over and over again for our worth – we would rather get on with our careers and our work caring for our patients.”