The British Medical Association (BMA) Junior Doctors Committee, co-chaired by British Indian doctor Vivek Trivedi, is to be known as the Resident Doctors Committee as this title change applies across the National Health Service (NHS) from this week.
These doctors, who are fully qualified medics completing their specialist training and making up around 25 per cent of all doctors at NHS hospitals across the UK, make this transition as they accepted the government’s offer to end their pay disputes dating back nearly two years.
BMA Resident Doctors Committee co-chairs Dr Trivedi and Dr Robert Laurenson said: “It should never have taken so long to get here, but we have shown what can be accomplished with our determination and with a government willing to simply sit down and talk realistically about a path to pay restoration. 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, with doctors remaining 20.8 per cent in real terms behind where we were in 2008. Mr Streeting has acknowledged our pay has fallen behind and has talked about a journey to pay restoration. He believes the independent pay review body is the right vehicle for this, and if he is right then no doctor need strike over pay in future. However, in the event the pay review body disappoints, he needs to be prepared for the consequences.
“The Resident Doctors Committee, as we will be called, will be using the next months to prepare to build on their success so that future cohorts of doctors never again need to see the kind of pay cuts we have. We thank all doctors who have seen us through to this point by standing on picket lines and fighting for their worth. The campaign is not over, but we, and they, can be proud of how far we have come.”
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Outside the pay negotiations, the government agreed that from September 18 “junior doctors” across the UK will be known as “resident doctors” to better reflect their expertise. This follows a motion to the BMA’s annual policy-making conference in 2023 when doctors voted in favour of a name change.
As many as 45,830 junior doctors in England took part in an online referendum between 19 August and 15 September, with 30,227 (66 per cent) voting in favour of the offer.
UK Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “We inherited a broken NHS, the most devastating dispute in the health service’s history, and negotiations hadn’t taken place with the previous ministers since March.
“Things should never have been allowed to get this bad. That’s why I made ending the strikes a priority, and we negotiated an end to them in just three weeks. I am pleased that our offer has been accepted, ending the strikes ahead of looming winter pressures on the NHS.
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“This marks the necessary first step in our mission to cut waiting lists, reform the broken health service, and make it fit for the future.”
The cumulative impact of the uplifts means a doctor starting foundation training in the NHS will see their basic pay increase to £36,600, compared to around £32,400 before the deal, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said.
*Info: BMA