The union said it had been “negotiating in good faith for weeks” and had been making progress before accusing the Government of beginning to “shift the goalposts”
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Basic pay for resident doctors in England would be 35.2 per cent higher on average than four years ago if they accept the Government’s offer, Wes Streeting has said, as he urged medics to reconsider next month’s strike action.
Earlier this week, the British Medical Association (BMA) announced that resident doctors will walk out for six days from 7am on April 7, just after the long Easter weekend.
The union said it had been “negotiating in good faith for weeks” and had been making progress before accusing the Government of beginning to “shift the goalposts”.
Now, in a letter to medics, the Health Secretary has shared the full details of the offer put to the union.
He also reiterated his deadline of Thursday April 2 to reconsider.
According to Mr Streeting, the offer was developed in partnership with the BMA and the resident doctors committee officer team over the last three months.
It includes a 4.9 per cent increase in average basic pay from 2026 to 2027, which the Health Secretary said would leave resident doctors 35.2 per cent better off than four years ago.
Wages for the lowest paid, newly qualified medics would have risen by at least 6.2 per cent and 7.1 per cent, with basic pay for a new full-time doctor in their first paid year of training after medical school at £41,226.
The letter highlights that the starting wage for new graduates would also have been almost £12,000 higher than in 2022/23.
For the most experienced resident doctors, basic pay would have increased to £77,348, and could top £100,000 if additional hours are taken into account.
The offer also pledges up to 4,500 new specialty training posts over the next three years, mandatory royal college exam fees reimbursed, contract reforms and reforms to the pay structure to ensure more opportunities for wage rises.
Mr Streeting wrote: “I know that trust has been strained and that many of you feel undervalued.
“I have listened carefully to that message, and this is the most comprehensive offer I can make.”
If the BMA misses the deadline of April 2, Mr Streeting told MPs on Thursday that minimising the disruption of the strike will “consume the money set aside for this deal”.
He also said that the Government was “planning on the basis of a prolonged conflict” in Iran, and as a result will not be able to offer more to resident doctors in a future deal.
Some experts estimate the six-day spell of industrial action could cost the NHS £300 million.
The letter comes as hundreds of BMA staff are out on strike for 48 hours.
The GMB union claims workers have had their pay eroded in real terms by between 13 per cent and 16.5 per cent since 2012.
Around 50 BMA workers and GMB members were in a picket line outside BMA House in Tavistock Square, central London, on Friday morning.