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THE British Medical Association BMA has called the UK Government “reckless” over pay talks, as the Government says increasing pay in line with inflation is unaffordable. The current pay agreement for Junior Doctors ends in March 2023, and BMA says that the Prime Minister and the current Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay, were refusing to enter meaningful negotiations with Unions over the deal. This has resulted in a strike action ballot being held by members of the BMA. Already around 45,000 members of the BMA have been balloted on strike action, with the result of the vote expected on:- Monday, 20 February 2023. If a deal can not be found, and the vote is in favor of strike action, then Junior Doctors who are BMA members, will go on strike, just like the recent strikes by NHS Nurses and Ambulance Crews. This will add even more pressure on the NHS and the care system.

Now it has become clear that BMA members are expected to vote in favor of strike action, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has reacted by sending out the following statement:- “We hugely value the work of junior doctors and we have been clear that supporting and retaining the NHS workforce is 1 of our main priorities. As part of a multi-year deal we agreed with the BMA, junior doctors’ pay has increased by a cumulative 8.2% since 2019/20. We also introduced a higher pay band for the most experienced staff and increased rates for night shifts. The Health and Social Care Secretary has met with the BMA and other medical unions to discuss pay, conditions, and workload. He’s been clear he wants to continue discussing how we can make the NHS a better place to work for all.”

The DHSC has published a media fact sheet on NHS industrial action on the Gov.UK website and can be accessed by clicking on this link.

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