The UK government has withdrawn an offer to create 1,000 additional doctor training positions in England after the British Medical Association (BMA) refused to cancel a planned six-day strike next week.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had set a 48-hour deadline on Monday evening for the walkout to be called off if the union wanted to preserve the training package. The extra posts were part of a broader set of measures proposed by ministers earlier this year to resolve the ongoing dispute with resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson stated that doctors had been presented with a "generous deal," but it is now not feasible to proceed with the training positions. "These posts would have gone live this month, but as systems now need to prepare for strikes and more uncertainty, it simply won't be operationally or financially possible to launch these posts in time to recruit for this year," the spokesperson said.
The government clarified that the decision would not affect the overall number of doctors in the NHS, as the posts were intended to be converted from existing short-term positions that resident doctors often fill when they cannot secure official training roles.
Dr. Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA resident doctor committee, expressed deep disappointment at the announcement. "It is genuinely disheartening to be at this point after what had been constructive talks up until a few weeks ago when the government moved the goalposts," he said. "It is simply wrong that the development of the doctors of the future is being used as a pawn like this. We have consistently maintained that we are willing to postpone industrial action should a genuinely credible offer be provided."
In addition to the training posts, the government had offered to cover certain out-of-pocket expenses, such as exam fees, and to ensure faster pay progression through the five salary bands that span medical training. However, the BMA ended negotiations, claiming the deal—particularly the pay progression element—had been weakened at the last minute.
This development coincided with the government accepting recommendations from the independent pay review body for a 3.5% pay rise for all doctors, including resident doctors, effective this month. The BMA described this as a "crushing blow," noting that inflation is expected to rise due to the Iran war. While resident doctor pay has increased by a third over the past four years, the union argues it remains a fifth lower than in 2008 when adjusted for inflation, using the Retail Price Index (RPI) measure.
The training posts in question are those doctors enter after their first two years of training, when they begin to specialize in fields such as general practice or surgery. Last summer, there were 30,000 applicants for approximately 10,000 available positions, including some from doctors applying from abroad.
The upcoming strike, set to begin at 07:00 BST on Tuesday, will be the joint longest in the dispute's history, matching a previous six-day walkout. It marks the 15th strike since the conflict began in March 2023. Resident doctors constitute nearly half of all medics in the NHS, with about two-thirds being BMA members.