Strike action a 'last resort', doctor says

Doctors in East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire have joined a five-day strike in a long-running dispute over pay and jobs.

Resident doctors, the new name for junior doctors, represent nearly half of the doctors working in the NHS, in both emergency and non-urgent care.

Becky Lavelle, a resident doctor in East Yorkshire, said the strike action was "a last resort", and she would rather have a deal with the government that meant "we could get back to work".

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the strike had been timed to inflict most damage on the NHS and put patients at risk, but the British Medical Association (BMA) said it would work with NHS bosses to ensure safety.

Dr Lavelle, who is also deputy chair of the Yorkshire resident doctors committee, was one of those to join the picket line outside Hull Royal Infirmary.

"It's always difficult as a doctor to take strike action," she said.

"But, like every other healthcare worker, we know the situation the NHS is in right now is untenable - it's unsafe.

"Every single day is a crisis in the NHS," she added.

Dr Lavelle said it was also upsetting for flu to be brought up as a reason not to strike as it happened every year.

"Maybe it's the responsibility of the health secretary to better staff and resource the NHS to deal with it," she added.

This is the 14th walkout by resident doctors in the long-running pay dispute.

Streeting said resident doctors had received the largest pay rises of any public sector employees over the last three years, totalling nearly 30%.

"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 added.

Meanwhile, Dr Nigel Wells, medical director at the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board - said patients would still get the care they needed, with senior doctors drafted in to provide cover.

Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board said people should attend hospital and GP appointments as planned unless they had been told not to.

It added that all other NHS staff, including consultants and specialist doctors, would be "working hard to keep people safe".

The BMA has called a series of strikes in England over pay and working conditions since 2023.

It argues that resident doctors' pay is 20% lower in real terms than it was in 2008, even after the 2025 increase.

The government uses the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of inflation to calculate public sector pay increases.

However, the BMA says many resident doctors have large student loans and interest on these is calculated using a different inflation measure called RPI, which is higher.

Using the CPI measure, the government says resident doctors' current pay is fair.

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