Resident doctors in England are to “press ahead” with a planned walkout next week after crunch talks failed to avert the strike action, the Government has said as it took a key part of its offer off the table.
The Department of Health and Social Care said an offer of 1,000 extra training places, which was part of the Government deal on pay and jobs, will no longer be “financially or operationally” possible as the NHS prepares to deal with the fallout from the strike.
Tens of thousands of resident doctors in England are set to stage a six-day walkout on Tuesday, immediately after the Easter weekend.
Resident doctors have written to the Secretary of State explaining why the Government’s latest offer fell short and what must be done to improve it.
— The BMA (@TheBMA) April 1, 2026
If a credible offer is made, resident doctors are prepared to postpone next week’s strikes. We remain committed to further… pic.twitter.com/3RPI9S7Dsw
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer gave the resident doctors committee of the British Medical Association (BMA) a 48-hour deadline to reconsider the Government’s deal on pay and jobs, which included the offer of extra NHS training posts.
As the deadline approached, the BMA set out a list of demands for Government which would need to be addressed for them to call off the strike.
Responding, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “It is disappointing that the BMA has decided to press ahead with strikes next week, despite conversations we have been having in recent days in a bid to protect the NHS from strikes.
“This Government offered resident doctors a generous deal to improve their pay, career progression and working lives that would have seen resident doctors on average 35.2% better off than they were four years ago.
“Because the BMA resident doctor committee has not agreed to call off these strikes and put an offer to members, we will now not be able to deliver the 1,000 extra training places which the BMA asked for.
“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 April in time to recruit for this year – this won’t impact the overall number of resident doctors and the NHS will be there for patients when they need it.
“Our attention and that of leaders across the NHS is now on protecting patients, staff and our NHS by minimising disruption to the health service.”
In a statement issued on Wednesday evening, Dr Jack Fletcher, chairman of the doctors’ committee, said: “It is not unexpected, but extremely disappointing to see the Government has scrapped 1,000 new specialty training places at a time when doctors so urgently need more jobs and patients so desperately need more doctors.
“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.
“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.
“This remains the case now, up to, and throughout any period of industrial action.”
