Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jun 29
England Resident Doctors Accept 3.5% Pay Deal, Ending 3-Year Strike Wave
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jun 29

England Resident Doctors Accept 3.5% Pay Deal, Ending 3-Year Strike Wave

3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jun 29

Summary

  • 53% of voting BMA resident doctors in England backed the government offer, ending three years of strikes that had disrupted NHS services.
  • The package includes a 3.5% pay rise this year, backdated to April 1, 2026, for an average 4.9% increase now and 6.6% by April 2027, according to the government and union.
  • Starting salaries will rise to just over £40,000 and the most senior resident doctors to £76,500 basic pay, with exam fees covered and 4,500 extra training places promised.
  • Hundreds of thousands of patient appointments were cancelled during the dispute, which involved doctors who make up nearly half of England's medical workforce.
  • The settlement narrows one of the UK's biggest NHS labor disputes even as Wales and Scotland pursue separate pay talks and Northern Ireland resident doctors stage a 24-hour strike.

Insights

As England's doctors end their strike, why are doctors in Northern Ireland just beginning theirs over a 30% pay cut?
This deal cost the NHS billions. Will it truly fix the doctor shortage, or is it just an expensive temporary truce?