Young doctor leaders are confident they can resolve the NHS pay dispute without further strikes, but warn “much more substance” is needed to reach a deal.
Dr Vivek Trivedi and Dr Robert Laurenson, co-chairs of the British Medical Association’s young doctors committee, said their initial face-to-face talks with Wes Streeting, the health secretary, had been “collaborative” and a “positive first step” towards ending their 20-month dispute over payments.
Asked by reporters if they were confident the row could be resolved without further industrial action, Trivedi said: “We did not come to this meeting expecting our dispute to be resolved. We hoped to be heard and listened to, and that has happened.
“And we hope to build on that and continue in good faith, as we have always done, but it does seem to be mutual now; it suggests that we can come to a resolution.”
Strikes in the NHS since December 2022 by doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, paramedics and other staff have led to the postponement of almost 1.5 million appointments, procedures and operations, at an estimated cost to the NHS of over £3 billion.
“No doctor, no member of the public wants this to go on any longer than it needs to,” Trivedi said.
“It was a positive meeting, we were pleased to be able to meet the Foreign Secretary and his team so soon after the general election. It shows how urgently they are to resolve this dispute, which has been going on for 20 months.”
Young doctors in England say their salaries have fallen by more than a quarter over the past 15 years and are calling for a 35% pay rise.
Streeting has previously said he would not meet the 35% target, saying if he were to give in to the demand, “any union worth its salt” would come back with the same request the following year.
Asked if Streeting was open to the idea of a multi-year salary deal, Laurenson said: “Yes. There was a clear conversation about the time frame and about a trip.”
However, he also said there was still a long way to go before an agreement could be reached.
“There have been discussions about reforms and we are curious to see what that will yield. This is a complex negotiation and it will take some time.
“This was a positive first step, but that was it, the first step. There is a lot more meat to be added to the bones before we can come to some kind of agreement.”
He added: “Now it is just up to the government to come up with a credible offer through the series of negotiations that we are about to begin.”
The pair will meet Streeting again next week and said there were no plans for further strike action “at this time” as negotiations progress.
Ahead of Monday’s meeting, Streeting said the talks marked an “important reset moment” in the government’s relations with junior doctors.
Speaking at the Tony Blair Institute’s Future of Britain Conference 2024, he added: “In Opposition we have made it very clear that the 35% pay demand is not achievable, and that has not changed since the general election.
“The reason we were so blunt in our opposition was not just to send a tough message, but also to show them the respect that I think they deserve. And a key ingredient of respect is honesty.
“Secondly, apart from salary, there are a whole host of other issues with the way young doctors are treated by their employers that I am genuinely angry about – in terms of their placements and their rotations.”