Junior doctor strikes likely to end as BMA and government agree on fresh pay offer

From September junior doctors will be referred by their chosen title, Resident Doctors, to reflect their expertise  

The British Medical Association (BMA) and the government have agreed on a new pay offer for junior doctors that, if accepted, could end 15 months of devastating strike action.

The BMA is set to recommend that its members accept this offer, which will deliver an additional pay rise of between 3.71% and 5.05%, averaging 4.05%, on top of their existing pay award for 2023-24. This pay increase will be retroactively applied from April 2023.

Accepting the recommendations of the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) for 2024-25, the government will also uplift each part of the pay scale by 6%, plus £1,000 on a consolidated basis, resulting in an average increase of over 8%, effective from 1 April 2024.

These pay rises will result in a starting foundation training doctor's base pay increasing to £36,600, up from around £32,400. Similarly, a full-time doctor entering specialty training will see their basic pay rise to over £49,900, compared to approximately £43,900 they were paid.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “I am delighted that we have agreed an offer that finally paves the way to ending industrial action which has caused untold misery to patients and staff.”

“Everyone agrees we can’t have more disruption, more cancelled appointments, which is why my priority from day one has been to end this dispute.

Since assuming his role, the Health Secretary has prioritised resolving the strike action, initiating discussions with the BMA junior doctors’ committee on his first day in office and meeting with them regularly over the last three weeks.

Streeting noted that although the negotiation had been tough, they had worked rapidly to reach a fair offer.

“I have been honest about the terrible economic inheritance left for this government, while the junior doctors’ committee has been clear that nothing less than the offer on the table will bring these strikes to an end.

“This is a fair offer. Fair to junior doctors, fair to patients and fair to the NHS. It also represents an opportunity to truly reset relationships so we can begin working together to bring waiting lists down and fix the broken NHS,” he added.

Additionally, the government will ask the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration to consider the overall reward package and career progression for resident doctors in its recommendations for 2025-26.

This aims to ensure that medicine remains an attractive and rewarding career path, contributing to the development of future consultants and GPs, according to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Acknowledging the disruption caused by the rotation system for junior doctors and their families, the department will lead a review to reform the number and frequency of rotations.

Furthermore, it will review and redesign curriculums where needed. NHS England will assess training numbers to address bottlenecks and ensure the NHS has enough doctors, consultants and GPs for the future.

From September, junior doctors will be referred to as ‘Resident Doctors’ to reflect their expertise.

This is part of the ambition to reset the relationship between the government and NHS doctors, the DHSC stated.

Junior doctors’ strikes have significantly impacted the NHS, with nearly 1.5 million patient appointments canceled or rescheduled, and striking doctors losing many days of pay.