Changes to the way hospitals will work during resident doctor strikes could "risk patient safety", the British Medical Association (BMA) has warned. A five-day walkout is scheduled to start on Friday and could cause significant upheaval to the NHS in England.
It is hoped the strikes could be averted by ongoing talks between the Government and the Resident Doctors Committee (RDC) of the BMA. But with just days before the strikes are due to start, the union has criticised the way the health service is preparing.
NHS changes strike approach
In previous walkouts, urgent and emergency services have been staffed by senior hospital doctors, including consultants, and pre-planned work was largely postponed. But the BMA said that hospital leaders have been told to continue with scheduled non-urgent care during the fresh bout of strike action.
The union said this approach would put patients at risk. Speaking earlier this month, NHS England boss Sir Jim Mackey said "we can't allow this to play out in a way that it did last time".
Previous strikes cost billions
The last round of strikes, which also included walkouts by other health workers, came at an estimated cost of £1.5 billion to the NHS in England. Some 1.5 million appointments, procedures and operations were postponed as a result of the stoppages.
In a letter to Sir Jim, BMA council chairman Dr Tom Dolphin and deputy council chairwoman Dr Emma Runswick wrote: "Your decision to instruct hospitals to run non-urgent planned care stretches safe staffing far too thinly, and risks not only patient safety in urgent and emergency situations, but in planned care too. Consultants cannot safely provide elective care and cover for residents at the same time."
Safety concerns over staffing
The BMA leaders wrote: "We therefore strongly urge you to reconsider your instructions to hospitals, which should be preparing now to postpone non-urgent planned activity in order to provide a safe urgent and emergency service in keeping with the levels of staff available." In previous strikes, there was a so-called "derogation" process where hospitals can request striking doctors return to work if there is risk to patient safety.
The BMA said that it is "committed" to the process but not to facilitating non-urgent work. The previous strikes ended last September when resident doctor members voted to accept a Government pay deal worth 22.3% on average over two years.
Pay dispute continues
The 2025/26 pay deal saw resident doctors given a 4% increase plus £750 "on a consolidated basis", working out as an average rise of 5.4%. Government officials said these two increases equate to a 28.9% pay rise.
But the BMA said resident doctors need 29.2% to reverse "pay erosion" since 2008/09. The strikes are due to begin at 7am on Friday and last for five days.
NHS England has been approached for comment.
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
