A clear summary of the 15th walkout by resident doctors, the contested pay and training offers, and where talks have collapsed
The latest phase of industrial action by resident doctors has again thrust workforce, pay and training shortages into the headlines. The six-day walkout that began on 7 April and ran to 13 April is the fifteenth round of strikes in a dispute the BMA says stems from long-term pay erosion and a lack of substantive roles for doctors in training.
The government and the Health Secretary Wes Streeting have countered that public-sector pay settlements for doctors have been generous in recent years, prompting a bitter debate over figures, inflation measures and the distribution of newly promised training posts. This story was published on 13/04/2026 and remains a live political and health-service issue.
What the dispute centres on
At its core the disagreement involves both immediate pay settlement details and the pipeline of senior doctors for the future. The BMA argues that, even after recent awards, resident doctors remain about 21 per cent worse off in real terms compared with 2008; it describes pay rises as insufficient to reverse decades of relative decline.
The government points to multi-year increases and says the latest package was negotiated in good faith. A central bone of contention was an offer that included accelerated progression through salary bands and promises about extra specialty training posts, but the BMA says elements of that package were diluted late in talks, prompting renewed strikes.
Pay progression, inflation and student debt
Numbers and the choice of inflation measure matter to both sides. Resident doctors begin on basic pay of just over £40,000 in their first foundation year and, at the top of their training, on around £76,500. Recent settlements included rises totalling about 22% across 2026 and 2026, an extra 5.4% in 2026, and a 3.5% uplift applied in April 2026. The government uses the Consumer Prices Index to frame pay awards, while doctors point out that student loan interest and some other costs track the higher Retail Prices Index, meaning their effective financial squeeze can be greater than government figures suggest.
Training posts, workforce planning and the withdrawn jobs
Workforce capacity is as important to striking members as immediate pay. Ministers offered to expand specialist training capacity by 4,000 posts by 2028, with the first 1,000 posts becoming available in 2026, and suggested an initial package that referenced 4,500 specialty training places. The BMA and its resident doctors committee say it remains unclear how many of those roles would be truly additional versus repurposed from existing locally employed posts. When the government later signalled the withdrawal of 1,000 of the 4,500 places that had been part of the offer, union leaders described that move as a direct blow to future consultant capacity and a politically damaging reversal that made agreement much harder to reach.
How staffing shortages affect patient care
Doctors on strike emphasise the human impact of long-term understaffing. Across the NHS there are reports of corridor care, lengthy waits for procedures and patients deteriorating while they wait. Locum rates and rota arrangements have been adjusted in some regions, for example in Mersey where cuts to locum pay exposed massive rota gaps over busy periods, according to local representatives. NHS guidance during industrial action asks people with emergencies to use 999 and 111 as normal and reassures that senior staff will cover many services, but unions warn that keeping services running in this way adds to pressure on exhausted senior doctors.
Positions, polling and the path back to talks
The political and union leadership exchanges have been sharp. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has argued that resident doctors are among the biggest winners from recent public-sector pay settlements and urged the BMA to adopt a more measured stance. Union figures, including the resident doctors committee chair, say a deal was close until the government diluted key elements at the last minute, stretching money over too many years and removing important posts. Polling shared by ministers suggested majority public opposition to the strikes, but YouGov figures cited by broadcasters put opposition at about 53% and support at 38%, underlining a contested public mood that is complicating political manoeuvring.
What next
Both sides say they would prefer a negotiated settlement. The BMA has repeatedly stated it is willing to return to talks if an offer is credible, properly funded and does not treat future consultant capacity as a bargaining chip. Ministers say they have engaged in good faith and that their package included commitments on training expansion and expenses support. For patients and managers the immediate priority is protecting emergency and urgent care while negotiations continue, and for both sides the longer-term challenge remains rebuilding workforce capacity and restoring pay levels that make long-term medical careers sustainable.
