North East junior doctors say 'ball is in Government's court' ahead of NHS Christmas strike action

Junior doctors said the pay offer they had received was "derisory"

Leading North East junior doctors hit out a "very, very disappointing" pay offer and said the power to avert potentially debilitating NHS strike action this winter remains in the Government's hands.

British Medical Association (BMA) figures across the region said the union's move to schedule two sets of strikes - before and after Christmas - was a decision they had been forced into following the offer of a three per cent pay rise presented by the Government. The union continues to fight on the basis that this far from makes up for more than a decade of below-inflation pay increases.

This comes as NHS bosses have raised "extreme concerns" over the forthcoming strikes, saying the walkouts come at the “most challenging period of the year” for the health service. A three-day walkout in December – in just two weeks’ time – comes just days ahead of Christmas, while a six-day January strike will be the longest in NHS history.

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The BMA announced strikes in England later this month and in January after talks with the Government to resolve the pay dispute broke down. Medics in training will walk out from 7am on December 20 to 7am on December 23 2023 and from 7am on January 3 to 7am on January 9 2024.

Dr Milo Kostusiak is co-chair of the Northern Region Junior Doctors Committee. He told ChronicleLive: "Of course this is a very disappointing outcome. After being in negotiations with the Government for weeks, and having had positive talks with the Government and with the new Health Secretary Ms Atkins, it's very dispiriting to see this offer.

"Three per cent is much, much less than what consultants have been offered, it's also much less than what the Scottish Government to Scottish junior doctors. Subsequently this was obviously something that was going to be unacceptable to our members. Speaking to colleagues on the ground in our hospitals of all different grades - from FY1 up to registrar - before this offer was made it was clear that anything lower than the Scottish offer was not going to be acceptable.

"And so unfortunately we had to call for further strike action - which is something none of us want to do, but it's something that has had to have been done at this point. We have a substantial mandate from our members - and it's our second mandate from those members - and we believe strongly this is what they want us to be doing."

Dr Kostusiak reiterated that the Government could avoid the strikes if it chose. He added: "Of course, if the Government comes back to us in time, before or even during the strikes, with a credible offer we will be able to call off the action - for us now, the ball is clearly in the Government's court."

Dr Jack Fletcher, a former member of the the regional junior doctor's committee who continues to be a BMA rep in the south of the region, added: "It's definitely disappointing that we have ended up the position we have done where we are. But three per cent continues to be a derisory offer in the face of the significant cuts junior doctors have had. It remains a huge shame we have been pushed to this point."

NHS leaders have said they will prioritise urgent and emergency care to “protect patient safety” during the walkouts. But Professor Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director for the NHS in England, warned that the service is likely to face “another very challenging winter”.

He said: “It is extremely concerning that the health service is set to face another escalation in industrial action, with the longest consecutive strike in NHS history now planned during one of the most challenging periods of the year. Staff across the country have worked incredibly hard to ensure urgent and life-saving care has continued during what is now a full calendar year of strike action, while also delivering progress on our recovery plans.

"As the NHS continues to prepare for what is likely to be another very challenging winter, we will also now prepare to mitigate the impact of the latest strikes this Christmas, once more prioritising urgent and emergency care to protect patient safety and ensure those in life-saving emergencies can receive the best possible care.”

The BMA said on Tuesday that junior doctors have been offered a three per cent rise on top of the average 8.8% increase they were given in the summer. But the union said the cash would be split unevenly across different doctor grades and would “still amount to pay cuts for many doctors”.

Rishi Sunak said during Prime Minister's Questions: "The Government has now reached settlements with every other part of the public sector including most recently consultants, and I am grateful to them for their constructive engagement with the Government. The junior doctors are taking action in the face of a recommendation of an independent body of a nine per cent pay rise on average, the highest increase across the entire public sector.

"The Government has gone beyond that in conversations with them and they have still decided to take damaging strike action. It is wrong and that is why we have introduced minimum service levels to ensure that we can guarantee a safe level of care for patients across the NHS.

"It would be good to hear at some point from the Labour Party whether they will get off the fence, condemn these strikes and back these minimum service levels."

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