A five‑day stoppage by resident doctors in England will proceed from 07:00 on Wednesday 17 December until 07:00 on Monday 22 December, after 83% of respondents in a British Medical Association (BMA) poll voted to continue with action on a 65% turnout. This will be the 14th round of walkouts since the dispute began in March 2023.
Ministers had asked the union to pause action to consider a revised package centred on career progression rather than headline pay. The Department of Health and Social Care set out measures to prioritise UK and Republic of Ireland medical graduates and long‑serving NHS doctors for specialty training via emergency legislation from 2026, expand specialty training posts to 4,000 over three years with 1,000 brought forward for 2026, and reimburse Royal College exam, portfolio and membership fees. The Health Secretary also proposed increasing the less‑than‑full‑time allowance to £1,500, but confirmed there would be no further pay rise this year.
BMA leaders said the offer did not address pay erosion and would not resolve the training bottleneck facing early‑career doctors. The union argues resident doctors’ pay remains around a fifth lower than in 2008 once inflation is taken into account and continues to seek multi‑year restoration, rejecting what it described as a deal that was ‘too little, too late’.
The government position is unchanged on pay. Ministers point to a cumulative 28.9% uplift for resident doctors since 2023, including a 5.4% award for 2025/26, and say public finances do not allow further increases this year. The department estimates average full‑time basic pay will reach about £54,300 in 2025/26 under the latest award.
The strike coincides with early and intense winter pressures. NHS England reported an average of 2,660 patients in hospital with influenza each day in the first week of December, up 55% on the previous week, while the UK Health Security Agency’s latest surveillance shows rising hospitalisation rates and continued H3N2 circulation.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer urged doctors to accept the package or at least reschedule action, arguing that strikes during what he called the NHS’s most precarious winter since the pandemic would be irresponsible given the sharp rise in flu admissions.
Operationally, resident doctors will withdraw from both emergency and non‑urgent duties. Trusts are planning to maintain urgent and emergency services by deploying consultants and SAS doctors, with any elective activity proceeding only where risk‑assessed and safely staffed. The BMA says safety‑critical derogations remain in place to respond to individual patient risks.
NHS England has reiterated that patients should attend planned appointments unless contacted to reschedule and that urgent and emergency care remains available. During November’s five‑day action, the service reported that it maintained almost all care, though disruption and recovery work followed.
The NHS Confederation called the decision to proceed ‘bitterly disappointing’ and warned that disruption would fall most heavily on patients awaiting time‑critical procedures, while stressing that local systems will work to mitigate risk during the strike period.
“Resident doctor” is now the term used by the BMA and government for the workforce previously known as junior doctors, following a change adopted in September 2024 to reflect qualifications and responsibilities. Communications from the NHS and media have been encouraged to follow suit.
For policymakers, the immediate questions are whether the training‑post expansion and proposed prioritisation rules can be implemented at pace for the 2026 intake, how quickly fee reimbursements and allowances can reach doctors’ pay packets, and whether these measures will relieve the training logjam without further movement on pay. The department says the legislation will be brought forward in the new year.
For patients and services this week, the guidance is unchanged: use 999 for life‑threatening emergencies, NHS 111 online for urgent but non‑life‑threatening needs, and attend appointments unless told otherwise. Trust communications will confirm any local changes to planned care as strike days approach.