Strikes by resident doctors in England will go ahead as planned after members of the British Medical Association (BMA) rejected a new offer from the Government.
Union members took part in an online poll over the weekend on whether or not the new deal was enough to call off the walkout.
The offer includes a fast expansion of specialist training posts as well as covering out-of-pocket expenses such as exam fees, but does not include extra pay.
Members rejected the offer and as a result resident doctors will down their stethoscopes and stage a five-day strike starting at 7am on Wednesday.
It comes amid warnings of a “super flu” sweeping the nation, with flu cases in hospitals in England at a record level for this time of year.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting accused the union of “shocking disregard for patient safety” for choosing to stage a walkout “to inflict damage on the NHS at the moment of maximum danger”.
He said the strikes are “self-indulgent, irresponsible and dangerous”.
The BMA said that 83% of resident doctors voted to carry on with strike action while 17% said that the offer was enough.
Turnout was 65%, the union said.
Dr Jack Fletcher, chairman of the BMA’s resident doctors committee, said: “Our members have considered the Government’s offer, and their resounding response should leave the Health Secretary in no doubt about how badly he has just fumbled his opportunity to end industrial action.
“Tens of thousands of frontline doctors have come together to say ‘no’ to what is clearly too little, too late.
“This week’s strike is still entirely avoidable – the Health Secretary should now work with us in the short time we have left to come up with a credible offer to end this jobs crisis and avert the real-terms pay cuts he is pushing in 2026.
“We remain committed to ensuring patient safety, as we have done with all previous rounds of strike action, and urge hospital trusts to continue planning to ensure safe staffing.
“We will be in close contact with NHS England throughout the strikes to address safety concerns if they arise.”
Mr Streeting said: “The BMA has chosen Christmas strikes to inflict damage on the NHS at the moment of maximum danger, refusing to postpone them to January to help patients and other NHS staff cope over Christmas.
“There is no need for these strikes to go ahead this week, and it reveals the BMA’s shocking disregard for patient safety and for other NHS staff.
“These strikes are self-indulgent, irresponsible and dangerous.”
He went on: “The Government’s offer would have halved competition for jobs and put more money in resident doctors’ pockets, but the BMA has again rejected it because it doesn’t meet their ask of a further 26% pay rise.
“Resident doctors have already had a 28.9% pay rise – there is no justification for striking just because this fantasy demand has not been met.
“I am appealing to ordinary resident doctors to go to work this week.
“There is a different magnitude of risk in striking at this moment.
“Abandoning your patients in their hour of greatest need goes against everything a career in medicine is meant to be about.
“The entire focus of my department and the NHS team will now be on getting the health service through the double whammy of flu and strikes.”
Public support for the strikes is low, according to a YouGov poll released on Friday, with 58% of those asked either somewhat or strongly opposing the industrial action while 33% somewhat or strongly support it.
