ENGLAND — Prime Minister Keir Starmer has given the British Medical Association 48 hours to call off the six-day resident doctor strike in England scheduled for April 7-13 or face losing 1,000 extra training places. The strike is due to run from 07:00 BST on 7 April to 06:59 BST on 13 April.

The British Medical Association called the strike over a proposed deal that included a 3.5% pay rise this year, coverage of some expenses including exam fees, and an increase in the number of training posts. The government package included 1,000 extra training places to be created this year and a total of at least 4,000 extra specialty posts over the next three years. The package would also cover out-of-pocket expenses such as exam fees and accelerate progression through the five resident doctors pay bands.

Sir Keir Starmer wrote in The Times: "Walking away from this deal is the wrong decision. It is a reckless decision. Because the truth is this: no one benefits from rejecting this deal." The government said that the 48-hour deadline is because applications for these training posts, which start in the summer, open in April, making Thursday the last day they can be added to the system.

The independent pay review body recommended a 3.5% pay rise for all doctors to take effect in April. The 3.5% pay rise will be paid regardless because it is separate from the offer made during the talks. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he could not offer resident doctors more pay because they had received pay rises totaling nearly 30% in the past three years. Streeting said "For the most experienced resident doctors, basic pay would have increased to £77,348 and average earnings would have exceeded £100,000." He said that new graduates entering the profession would earn on average £12,000 more annually than three years ago.

Dr Jack Fletcher, BMA resident doctor committee chair, accused the government of shifting the goal posts of the deal at the last minute. Fletcher said "Making threats about withholding jobs from doctors at a time the NHS was already under strain was clearly bad for patients." He said "I don't think it's a realistic or credible way to end this dispute. It will end in a negotiating room."

Fletcher said that pay for resident doctors had experienced decades of erosion and the union was asking for its reversal. This is the 15th walkout since the dispute started in March 2023. Talks on the dispute began at the start of January following strikes by resident doctors in November and December. The government said that the cost of covering the strike was a factor in its decision.