BBC News
The UK government has rescinded its offer to create 1,000 additional doctor training positions in England, following the British Medical Association's (BMA) decision to proceed with a six-day strike scheduled for next week.
These additional positions were part of a broader strategy to address the enduring disagreements surrounding pay and job shortages for resident doctors, who were previously classified as junior doctors.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer established a 48-hour ultimatum on Tuesday for the union to cancel the planned strike if they wished to retain these training opportunities.
This strike was initiated after negotiations between government officials and the BMA regarding compensation and job availability ended without resolution.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care remarked that a "generous deal" had been extended to the doctors, but the minister stated that it was no longer feasible to proceed with the training posts.
"These positions were intended to be active this month, but due to the preparation needed for the strike and the resulting uncertainty, it is not operationally or financially viable to implement these posts in time for this year's recruitment."
The government indicated that this decision would not diminish the overall number of doctors in the NHS, as the proposed posts would have been sourced from existing short-term positions that resident doctors fill when official training posts are unavailable.
Dr. Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA's resident doctor committee, expressed his disappointment regarding the announcement.
"It is genuinely disheartening to find ourselves in this situation after what had seemed to be productive discussions until a few weeks ago when the government shifted its expectations."
"It is fundamentally improper for the future development of our doctors to be manipulated in this manner."
"We have continually affirmed our readiness to postpone industrial action provided a truly credible offer is presented."
In conjunction with the proposed training posts, the government had also agreed to reimburse some out-of-pocket expenses, including exam fees, and to facilitate quicker pay progression.
However, the BMA concluded the negotiations, asserting that the offer—especially concerning pay progression—had been diluted at the last minute.
This decision came amid the government’s acceptance of recommendations from the independent pay review body, which advised that all doctors, including resident doctors, should receive a 3.5% pay increase starting this month.
The BMA labeled this as a "crushing blow," highlighting concerns that inflation would further escalate due to current geopolitical tensions, specifically the conflict in Iran.
While the recent pay increase has resulted in a one-third rise in resident doctor salaries over the past four years, the BMA contends that factoring in inflation reveals a reduction of nearly one-fifth compared to 2008.
The union employs a specific measure of inflation—Retail Price Index (RPI)—that is higher than other metrics, arguing that this is justified since the government utilizes RPI when determining interest for student loans.
The training positions in question are those that doctors transition into after completing the initial two years of training, at which point they begin to specialize in disciplines such as general practice or surgery.
Last summer, there were approximately 30,000 applicants vying for about 10,000 jobs, although a portion of these applications came from international doctors.
The upcoming strike, set to commence at 07:00 BST on Tuesday, will mark the longest joint action since the conflict arose—this will be only the second occasion that resident doctors have participated in a six-day strike.
This will be the fifteenth strike since the protracted dispute began in March 2023.
Resident doctors constitute nearly half of the medical workforce within the NHS, with two-thirds of this group being members of the BMA.
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