{"id":5753,"date":"2025-12-17T19:30:47","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T19:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=5753"},"modified":"2025-12-17T19:30:47","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T19:30:47","slug":"englands-resident-doctors-begin-five-day-strike-health-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=5753","title":{"rendered":"England\u2019s resident doctors begin five-day strike | Health News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>The British Medical Association is calling for improved pay and an increase in available jobs for qualified doctors.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"byline byline--single-avatar\">\n<div class=\"avatars-container\">\n<div class=\"responsive-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Caolan-Magee-pic-1-1743426806.jpg?resize=96%2C96&amp;quality=80 96w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 96px) 96px, 96px\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 17 Dec 2025<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">17 Dec 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Resident doctors in England have begun a five-day strike in a long-running dispute over pay and working conditions.<\/p>\n<p>Prime Minister Keir Starmer addressed the strike during Prime Minister\u2019s Questions in parliament on Wednesday, describing the walkout as \u201cdangerous and utterly irresponsible\u201d.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>\u201cMy message to resident doctors is: don\u2019t abandon patients,\u201d Starmer said. He urged them to \u201cwork with us to improve conditions and rebuild the NHS\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The prime minister also blamed the previous Conservative government for leaving the National Health Service \u201cabsolutely on its knees\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The doctors, formerly known as junior doctors and accounting for nearly half of England\u2019s medical workforce, walked out at 07:00 GMT on Wednesday. The strike is due to continue until 07:00 GMT on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>The strike follows an online ballot organised by the British Medical Association (BMA), the union representing resident doctors. About 30,000 members voted to reject the government\u2019s proposal, triggering the industrial action.<\/p>\n<p>Jack Fletcher, a BMA representative, said the dispute centred on two main issues: pay and a lack of jobs for qualified doctors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is a jobs crisis, where doctors are trained but unable to secure roles, and there is a pay crisis,\u201d Fletcher said while standing on a picket line outside St Thomas\u2019 Hospital in London.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe must value our doctors in this country,\u201d he added. \u201cLast year, more doctors left the profession than at any point in the past decade.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The strike comes as the NHS faces increased pressure, with flu-related hospitalisations in England rising by more than 50 percent in early December. Health authorities across Europe have also warned of an unusually early and severe flu season.<\/p>\n<p>NHS England said fewer doctors than usual would be on duty during the strike period, with staff required to prioritise life-saving care.<\/p>\n<p>The BMA is calling for what it describes as a \u201cgenuinely long-term plan\u201d to address pay, after years of below-inflation rises. It is also demanding the creation of new training posts, rather than what it says are recycled positions, to allow doctors to specialise and progress.<\/p>\n<p>The government\u2019s most recent offer, made last week, did not include new pay terms. Shortly after taking office, Health Secretary Wes Streeting agreed to a deal offering a 22 percent pay rise, below the 29 percent sought by the union.<\/p>\n<p>Doctors are seeking \u201cfull pay restoration\u201d, calling for salaries to return to their 2008 and 2009 levels in real terms after years of erosion by inflation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The British Medical Association is calling for improved pay and an increase in available jobs for qualified doctors. Published On 17 Dec 202517 Dec 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Resident doctors in England have begun a five-day strike in a long-running dispute over pay and working conditions. Prime Minister Keir [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5754,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}