Striking trainee doctors will bring the NHS to a standstill just days before Christmas as they plot a 72-hour bloodbath.
Struggling hospitals will also be rocked in the new year by six consecutive days of action from the British Medical Association (BMA), marking the longest ever strike in the 75-year history of the NHS.
It will coincide with one of the traditionally busiest periods.
Wage negotiations between the militant union and the government have failed, despite hopes for progress.
Since kicking off the endless wave of strikes last winter, BMA chiefs have pushed for a 35 percent pay rise for trainee doctors.
The union claimed that the government's latest offer was an additional 3 percent on top of the 9.8 percent increase already given.
Health Minister Victoria Atkins said the government would “immediately look to get back to the table” if the devastating strikes were called off.
Junior doctors in England have voted for new strikes in December and January after talks between the government and the British Medical Association collapsed
Official figures also show that waiting lists for routine NHS procedures have also risen to a new record, with around 6.5 million patients in England waiting for 7.77 million appointments and procedures in England
The BMA union is calling for a complete strike by all trainee doctors in the days leading up to Christmas and again in the New Year. Pictured: Healthcare workers on the picket line outside St Thomas's Hospital in London in September this year
Junior doctors in England will strike from 7am on December 20 to 7am on December 23 and from 7am on January 3 to 7am on January 9.
Ms Atkins said: 'It is disappointing that, despite significant progress, the BMA Junior Doctors Committee has withdrawn from negotiations and declared further strikes, which will result in more disruption for patients and additional pressure on NHS services and the staff now that we are entering a busy period. winter period, which endangers patient safety.
'I have made it clear that I respect the work of doctors in training and want to work with them to resolve this dispute.
'We have agreed a fair and reasonable offer with the BMA's advisory committee, which will be put to a vote by members after constructive discussions.'
She added: 'If the junior doctors committee calls off their strikes, we will immediately seek to come back to the table to continue negotiations.'
Dr. Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi, co-chairs of the BMA's junior doctors committee, said: 'We have been clear from the start of these discussions that we had to act quickly and if we did not have a credible offer, we would do so. be forced to strike.
'After five weeks of intensive discussions, the government was unable to make a credible offer on the reward within the deadline.
“Instead, we were offered an additional 3 percent, distributed unevenly across physician grades, which would still mean a pay cut for many physicians this year.”
The pair added: 'It is clear that the government is still unwilling to address the real pay cuts that doctors have experienced since 2008.
'It is a great shame that, even though the approach was more constructive, there was not enough supply to achieve a credible deal, which we hoped would end the dispute.
“Without sufficient progress by the deadline, we have no choice but to take action that demonstrates that physicians are as determined as ever in reversing their pay cuts.
Health and Social Care Minister Victoria Atkins (pictured in November) said the Government would 'immediately seek to come back to the table' if the trainee doctors' strikes were called off.
“However, we can still avoid the need for these strikes. We will be ready any time the government wants to talk. If a credible offer can be made the day before or even during an action, these strikes can be canceled.
“Ms Atkins and the team's approach has been productive, but ultimately that alone is not enough to make up for 15 years of declining wages.
“A year after our dispute began, we are still too far away from stemming the tide of declining wages, morale and physician retention.
“Rather than waste even more time and money and further disrupt patient care, the Health Minister must now make a credible offer.”
In the wake of Covid and ongoing strike action, waiting lists have increased to unprecedented levels.
NHS figures show that 7.8 million patients currently need routine treatment, up from the 4.5 million recorded pre-pandemic.
Insiders fear that the dire situation is likely to worsen with winter approaching and the constant threat of new strikes.
The strikes come as waiting lists for routine NHS procedures have risen to a new record. At Prime Minister's Questions last month, Labor leader Keir Starmer said the NHS waiting list was 7.8 million – half a million more than in January
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (pictured today) pledged to cut waiting lists early this year and newly appointed Ms Atkins has made tackling doctors' disputes one of her top priorities
Ms Atkins said last week that halting industrial action would prevent the NHS having to reschedule appointments during the strikes (file photo from an NHS hospital ward)
Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, said: 'This is the outcome trust leaders feared.
'This will be the longest strike in the history of the NHS during the busiest and toughest time of year for the NHS.
'These strikes will undermine efforts to further reduce waiting lists and have a serious knock-on effect on services across the NHS.
“As we have seen in previous strikes, patients will once again pay the price through new delays and disruptions.
'We know that this strike will be particularly difficult for trusts to manage as many employees will have booked annual leave over the festive period…
“It is not too late for the government and unions to resolve this dispute and prevent more strikes.”
The strikes are estimated to have already cost the NHS more than £1.3 billion and more than a million delayed patient appointments.
The Prime Minister promised at the beginning of this year to reduce waiting lists and the newly appointed Ms. Atkins has made addressing physician disputes one of her top priorities.
Her language has proven to be markedly different from that of predecessor Steve Barclay, who called the BMA a politically 'militant position'.
Last week the government agreed a deal with consultants in England to potentially end a long and bitter dispute over pay.
Officials refused for months to accept their original offer, worth about 6 percent.
But now the government has promised an additional investment of 4.95 per cent in wages, which could see consultants – who earn an average six-figure salary – receive up to an extra £20,000.
The deal on the table for consultants will be voted on by BMA members.
It is believed the junior doctors want a pay rise of €35 a month, but Ms Atkins has said the government cannot meet such requests.