Overview
- Resident doctors will walk out from 7am on Friday, November 14, until 7am on Wednesday, November 19, after talks failed to produce a new government offer.
- BMA resident doctors' chair Dr Jack Fletcher said no fresh proposal had been received that would persuade doctors to call off the action.
- Health Secretary Wes Streeting made a last-minute plea to halt the walkout, ruled out moving on headline pay after what he says is a 28.9% rise in recent years, and estimated the strike would cost about £240 million.
- Local NHS systems are activating contingency plans, including centralising emergency care at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, and warning of likely disruption to routine appointments and planned treatments.
- The dispute spans pay and training posts, with the BMA citing real-terms pay loss using RPI and the government pointing to CPI and recent uplifts, as trusts prepare for added winter and flu pressures.