Resident Doctors Accept Government Pay Deal, Bringing Industrial Dispute to an End

Resident doctors in England have voted to accept the UK Government’s latest pay and workforce offer, bringing to an end a long-running industrial dispute that has affected the NHS since 2023.

The British Medical Association (BMA) announced that 53% of eligible members voted in favour of the package in a referendum, with a 57% turnout and 32,932 doctors casting a vote.

The agreement means strike action by resident doctors will now end.

What’s Included?

The package builds on the Government’s previously announced 3.5% pay award for 2026/27 and includes measures intended to improve pay, training and career progression.

Key elements include:

• An average pay increase of 6.6% by April 2027.
• Pay changes that will be backdated to April 2026.
• The creation of up to 4,500 additional specialty training posts over the next three years.
• Reforms aimed at improving training and career progression for resident doctors.

Bringing a Dispute to a Close

The industrial dispute began in 2023 and resulted in more than a dozen rounds of strike action across England.

Resident doctors argued that their pay had fallen significantly in real terms since 2008, while successive governments maintained that any settlement also needed to remain affordable for the NHS.

Following the ballot result, Dr Jack Fletcher, Chair of the BMA Resident Doctors Committee, said members had concluded that the offer was sufficient to continue progress towards pay restoration while also addressing concerns around the availability of training posts.

Health Minister James Murray said the agreement would allow all parties to “draw a line under the disruption” and focus on rebuilding NHS services.

What This Means

The acceptance of the deal brings an end to one of the NHS’s most significant industrial disputes in recent years. For healthcare organisations, it is expected to provide greater workforce stability and reduce the disruption associated with industrial action.

Attention will now turn to implementing the agreed reforms, expanding specialty training opportunities and supporting NHS services as they continue efforts to reduce waiting lists and improve patient care.