Resident doctors weigh new government offer as December strikes loom

Resident doctors in England are weighing a revised government proposal on training and job reforms as the British Medical Association consults members on whether to call off planned December strikes

Resident doctors in England are considering a revised government offer aimed at addressing training shortages and job prioritisation ahead of planned strike action later this month. The British Medical Association (BMA) is consulting its members on whether the terms — including more speciality training posts, legislation to prioritise UK medical graduates, and funding for mandatory fees — are sufficient to call off the five‑day industrial action scheduled for 17–22 December. The survey is open until 15 December, and if a majority supports the offer, the strike could be postponed while a formal referendum follows.

Will this offer be enough to pause the resident doctor strike action?

The offer, put forward by the Government last week, included a number of concessions aimed at tackling the ongoing shortage of training places for resident doctors in England.
The Government offer includes:

• Emergency legislation in the new year to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors with significant experience working in the NHS for speciality training roles,
• The increase of speciality training posts over the next three years, from the 1,000 announced in the 10 Year Health Plan, to 4,000. These posts will be repurposed from ‘locally employed’ roles already present in the health service,
• Bringing forward 1,000 of those training posts to start in 2026,
• Funding mandatory medical royal college examination and membership fees for resident doctors.

The BMA is seeking members’ views on the offer via an online survey. If the majority of doctors indicate the offer is sufficient to postpone industrial action, the strikes planned for this month will be called off. After this, the BMA’s resident doctor committee will conduct a formal referendum to decide whether to accept the proposed terms.
Reflecting on the latest offer by the Department of Health, BMA resident doctors committee chair Jack Fletcher said it was regrettable that it had taken strikes to get to this point, but emphasised this action had been critical to ‘moving the needle’.
He said: “This offer is the result of thousands of resident doctors showing that they are prepared to stand up for their profession and its future.
“After their strike action succeeded in moving the Government from offering 1,000 training jobs to 4,000, as well as a plan on prioritisation for UK graduates and those who have worked in the NHS for some time, as a member-led organisation, we are giving resident doctors their say.”
Dr Fletcher added that if a majority of resident doctors were open to accepting the terms, the BMA could move towards ending its dispute with the Government.
He said: “We have forced the Government to recognise the scale of the problems and to respond with measures on training numbers and prioritisation. However, this offer does not increase the overall number of doctors working in England and does nothing to restore doctors’ pay, which remains well within the Government’s power to do.
“If members decide this is enough to halt strikes, we’ll hold a referendum. Otherwise, the Government must make further concessions to resolve the dispute.”

Fixing the NHS job crisis

In late November, the BMA announced that resident doctors in England plan to walk out from 7 am on 17 December to 7 am on 22 December. This strike is over pay and working conditions.
In November, BMA resident doctors committee co-chair Jack Fletcher said doctors would rather treat patients than strike. Continued inaction on the profession’s concerns left no alternative.
He said: “With neither a credible plan to fix the jobs’ crisis for resident doctors nor address their pay erosion coming from the Government, we have no choice but to announce more strike dates.
“However, these do not need to go ahead. Gradually raising pay over a few years and some common-sense fixes to the job security of our doctors are well within the reach of this Government.
“This would strengthen our workforce and prevent doctor unemployment, ensuring more patients get the care they need.”