The strike-mare before Christmas: Doctors union throws NHS into chaos after announcing ANOTHER five day walkout

Junior doctors will strike again this month for five days of industrial action designed to bring hospitals to a halt.

Thousands of paramedics, formerly known as junior doctors, will leave the workplace in the run-up to Christmas from 17 December to 22 December.

British Medical Association (BMA) bosses claim they ‘have no choice but to announce more strike dates’ after Government He could not put forward a ‘credible plan’.

Paramedics have gone on strike 13 times since 2022; Their last strike was just two weeks ago; It has disrupted services and forced health bosses to cancel an estimated 1.5 million appointments.

Health chiefs today described the announcement as a ‘provocative action by the BMA’ and warned it would put ‘intense’ pressure on NHS services due to rising flu cases and staff illnesses.

Junior doctors were offered a 5.4 per cent pay rise in May following a review of public sector pay.

The rise, recommended by an independent pay review body, was above the rate of inflation, which jumped to 3.5 per cent in April, the highest level since January 2024.

But union leaders described the increase as an ‘insult to doctors’ and said the 29.2 per cent pay increase was vital to reverse ‘pay erosion’ since 2008.

The BMA also warned that doctors are struggling to find work at a key stage of their training – between the second and third years of specialist training.

Before last month’s strike, health secretary Wes Streeting wrote to BMA leaders offering a package of measures including more specialist training places and help with exam fees.

But they rejected the proposal in just four hours without consulting the wider membership.

Chairman of the BMA’s junior doctors committee, Dr. Jack Fletcher said today: ‘As the government has failed to put forward a credible plan to solve the jobs crisis for junior doctors and at the same time impose real pay cuts for them, we have no choice but to announce further strike dates.

‘But there is no need for this to continue.

‘It is in the hands of this Government to gradually increase salaries over a few years and to make some common-sense adjustments to the job security of our doctors.

‘This will both secure the long-term strength of our healthcare workforce and save the country the embarrassment of caring for unemployed doctors at a time when patients are queuing to see even a GP.

‘This month we have seen the full ludicrous extent of the jobs crisis; When applying for training positions, second-year doctors were required to provide evidence of experience far beyond what had previously been required of them.

‘This is exactly the kind of situation that drives doctors away from work and onto the picket lines. But it is not too late for the Government to grasp the situation.’

Junior doctors make up around half of all doctors in the NHS.

Junior doctors in England earn a basic salary of £38,831 in their first foundation year after completing their medical degree. In their second year this figure rises to £44,439.

Paramedics are often expected to work night shifts, weekends and longer hours for extra pay.

After working as a junior doctor for eight or more years, salaries can rise to around £70,000.

The BMA claimed that first-year junior doctor salaries were 21 per cent lower in real terms than in 2008.

He wants the group’s pay to be brought back to the level it was 17 years ago, when they said the value of their wages had begun to decline.

The claim is based on a measure of inflation called the Retail Price Index (RPI); This includes housing costs and shows higher price increases than some other inflation measures.

A YouGov poll earlier this year found that 48 per cent of Britons opposed junior doctors going on strike, while 39 per cent supported them taking action.

But the Government says the RPI is out of date.

Instead, it uses the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to calculate inflation and wage increases.

The CPI looks at the cost of goods and services based on a basket of household goods.

The government says current pay for junior doctors is fair, using the CPI measurement.

Analysis by health think tank Nuffield Trust suggested that wages using the CPI had fallen by 5 per cent since 2008.

A YouGov poll earlier this year also found that 48 per cent of Britons opposed junior doctors going on strike, while 39 per cent supported them taking action.

YouGov said it ‘signals a change of heart’ about public support for junior doctors who struck last summer, while a majority of Britons (52 per cent) said they supported the action.

Last week the BMA announced it would hold a vote on junior doctor members to extend the power to strike action, which is due to expire in January.

If the vote is successful, his term will be extended until August 2026. Voting will run from December 8 to February 2.