RESIDENT doctors in England will review a new government offer on working conditions to decide if they should halt a five-day strike planned from December 17, the British Medical Association said on Wednesday.
The strike is part of ongoing action by resident doctors, who make up nearly half of the medical workforce, over pay and working conditions.
The BMA said the government had "put forward an offer on ending the jobs crisis for doctors in England", which includes improved access to training posts and funding for mandatory exam fees. The offer does not include any new pay terms.
The union says resident doctors continue to face years of pay erosion, while the government has said it cannot go beyond the 5.4 per cent pay increase announced earlier this year.
BMA resident doctors' committee chair Jack Fletcher said: "If members believe this is enough to call off strike action then we will hold a referendum to end the dispute. But if they give us a clear message that it is not, the government will have to go further to end industrial action."
Health minister Wes Streeting, who has criticised the timing of the strike during winter pressures on the healthcare system, urged doctors to accept the offer.
"While I'm frustrated with the BMA, and I think they're playing games now with patients' lives and the lives of other doctors who will be forced to cover strikes, that doesn't alter the fact that what we've put forward is a good deal for doctors," he said.
(With inputs from agencies)
