Majority of doctors do NOT back strike action leaked poll reveals as Wes Streeting claims ‘reckless’ union ‘has lost the plot’
Just a third of resident doctors in England back strike action, a leaked poll has revealed as the group of medics begin a five-day walkout.
The strike organised by the British Medical Association (BMA) — the union representing resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors — will now last until 7am on Wednesday.
It marks the 13th time since 2023 that the group has taken industrial action, in a row over pay and working conditions.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting wrote to BMA leaders last week offering a package of measures including more specialist training places and help with exam fees.
But BMA leaders rejected the proposal in just four hours without consulting their wider membership.
According to a survey, however, by Savanta and shared with The Times, only 33 per cent of resident doctors polled agreed that the strike should go ahead after Mr Streeting’s offer.
Forty-eight per cent said the strike should have been called off, with the remaining 19 per cent ‘unsure’.
It comes as the health secretary today launched a blistering attack on the BMA claiming it had ‘leadership that has truly lost the plot.
Responding to a doctor from north London who had chosen to take to the picket line today, Mr Streeting accused the union of ‘recklessness’ and holding patients to ‘ransom’
The BMA organised resident doctor strike marks the 13th time since 2023 the group has taken industrial action, in a row over pay and working conditions. Pictured, resident doctors on the picket line today outside St Thomas’ Hospital in London
In a turbulent week for Mr Streeting, which has been dominated by his speculation he wanted to oust the Prime Minister, he accused the union of ‘recklessness’ and holding patients to ‘ransom’.
Responding to a doctor from north London who had chosen to take to the picket line today, Mr Streeting told LBC radio: ‘On every single one of those fronts, on pay, on specialty training, places, on improvements to conditions, I have been working to address every single one of those issues.
‘These are not the conditions in which people go out on strike.
‘Strike should be a last resort, and I’m sorry, but when you say “I don’t want to be out on strike today”, yes, you do, because you have made that choice.
‘You have done so having had a 28.9 per cent pay rise, the highest in the public sector, two years in a row, and on those things that you’ve just mentioned, you say they take time.
‘Yes, they do, because it is complicated.
‘So, to hold patients to ransom and to be out on strike, setting back the NHS, because you don’t think we’re going fast enough, and because the leadership of your union are not honest enough that some of this change takes time, is extremely irresponsible.’
He added: ‘I don’t believe the BMA are speaking for their members. I think they’re speaking for their activists.
‘Those activists are damaging the NHS recovery, disrupting patients’ lives and they need to own the consequences of their actions.’
Earlier this week, speaking at an NHS conference, the Health Secretary also accused the BMA of indulging in ‘cartel like behaviour’ by fighting for even higher pay, while lobbying for lower taxes for more senior medics.
The industrial action is expected to blow a £240million hole in the health service budget, as hospitals are forced to cancel appointments and pay consultants inflated overtime rates when covering for junior colleagues.
By comparison, their last strike in July was estimated to have cost the health service £300 million.
Health leaders have warned the NHS may have to cut frontline staff and perform fewer operations and scans to cover the cost of ongoing doctors’ strikes.
They also fear the walkout will coincide with Britain’s worst flu season on record.
Latest figures show flu cases in England are still three times higher than normal and hospital admissions have doubled among those aged 75 to 84 in a single week.
Sir Jim Mackey, chief executive of NHS England, has written to hospital trust bosses urging them to maintain 95 per cent of non-urgent care treatments and procedures and to only reschedule ‘in exceptional circumstances to safeguard patient safety’.
Earlier this week, speaking at an NHS conference, the Health Secretary also accused the BMA of indulging in ‘cartel like behaviour’ by fighting for ever higher pay, while lobbying for lower taxes for more senior medics
A recent YouGov poll found 48 per cent of Britons oppose resident doctors going on strike, while 39 per cent support them taking action
But BMA leader Dr Tom Dolphin today said that keeping most services running would be ‘challenging’.
He said doctors had a legal right to strike and should not be ‘bullied or coerced’ into working.
And he warned his members would only leave the picket line if there was a major emergency — such as a mass casualty event.
Resident doctors are fighting for a further 26 per cent pay increase.
The BMA has also warned doctors are struggling to find jobs at a key stage of their training — between years two and three when they start speciality training.
This year there were more than 30,000 applicants for 10,000 jobs at this stage, although some will have been doctors from abroad.
Resident doctors make up around half of all doctors in the NHS.
During their first foundation year after finishing their medical degree, resident doctors in England earn a basic salary of £38,831. In their second year, this rises to £44,439.
BMA leader Dr Tom Dolphin (pictured) today said that keeping most hospital services running would be ‘challenging’
The strike will now last until 7am on Wednesday. Pictured, resident doctors on the picket line outside Leeds General Infirmary today
Medics are often expected to work night shifts, weekends and longer hours for extra payments.
After eight years or more as a resident doctor, salaries can progress to around £70,000.
The BMA claimed first year resident doctor pay is 21 per cent lower in real terms than it was in 2008.
It wants pay for the group to be brought back in line with the level it was at 17 years ago, when they say their value of their pay started to be eroded.
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.
However, the Government says RPI is outdated.
Instead, it uses the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) to calculate inflation and pay increases.
CPI looks at the cost of goods and services based on a basket of household items.
Using the CPI measure, the government says resident doctors’ current pay is fair.
Analysis from health think tank the Nuffield Trust has suggested that pay has fallen 5 per cent since 2008 if CPI is used.
Earlier this year, a YouGov poll also found that 48 per cent of Britons oppose resident doctors going on strike, while 39 per cent support them taking action.
YouGov said this ‘marks a shift in opinion’ of public support of striking junior doctors last summer, when the majority of Britons — 52 per cent — said they supported the action.
