Junior doctors in England vote to accept pay deal

Junior doctors in England have voted to accept a government pay offer worth an extra 22.3% on average over two years.

Of the 45,830 people who voted, between 19 August and 15 September, 66% backed the agreement on a turnout of 69%.

It ends industrial action amounting to the longest strike in NHS history which has gripped junior doctors in recent years.

The British Medical Association (BMA) junior doctors committee co-chairs, Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi, said: “It should never have taken so long to get here… one strike was one strike too many.

“This deal marks the end of 15 years of pay erosion with the beginning of two years of modest above-inflation pay rises. There is still a long way to go.”

Junior doctors in England have taken industrial action 11 times in the past 22 months. Their last strike, from 27 June to 2 July, affected 61,989 appointments, procedures and operations, according to NHS England.

The pay award amounts to around 22% on average and consists of two parts:

• 13.2% for 2023/24 made up of an extra 4.05% on top of 8.8% already promised – backdated to April 2023

• 8% for 2024/25 consisting of a 6% rise across pay scales plus £1,000

Basic pay now £36,600 a year

The deal means a doctor starting foundation training in the NHS will see their base pay increase to £36,600, up from about £32,400.

A full-time doctor entering speciality training will see their basic pay rise to £49,900 from about £43,900.

But the BMA argues – even after the increase – doctors’ pay remains 20.8% behind in real terms compared to a doctor in 2008.

Junior doctors had been pushing for a 35% pay rise to make up for what they say is 15 years of below-inflation salary increases.

The government says it will work with junior doctors to turn the health service around and resolve other issues – including training and rotas.

Fair deal for patients and doctors

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “We saw the cost to the taxpayer… £1.7bn wasted on meeting the costs of strikes, over 1.5 million operations, appointments, procedures delayed or cancelled.

“This was the right deal, a fair deal, fair for patients and also fair for junior doctors and, crucially, means that having drawn a line under this bitter dispute, we can now focus on cutting waiting lists and also reforming the NHS.”

Last week, a major report on the health service described it as being “in serious trouble”.

Sir Keir Starmer responded by saying the NHS must “reform or die” following Lord Darzi’s damning review, which paints a grim picture of the state of the NHS.

Deal provides ‘certainty’ ahead of winter

Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, said: “After unprecedented periods of industrial action, this agreement is excellent news for patients, doctors and the wider NHS.

“It provides welcome certainty particularly as we head into what we know will be a very challenging winter.”

Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, said “health leaders will breathe a massive sigh of relief” but warned that “there is still a long way to go to address all the issues raised by resident doctors”.

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The government has been previously criticised by the Conservatives for the pay offer to junior doctors.

It came alongside above-inflation pay offers to the public sectors, which is thought to have cost £9.4bn.

Outside the pay negotiations, the BMA has confirmed the government has agreed that from 18 September “junior doctors” across the UK will be known as “resident doctors” to better reflect their expertise.