‘Not grounds for more strikes’
Mr Murray said: “I met the BMA resident doctors committee officers today in the hope of starting a productive relationship and making progress on a deal to improve their members’ pay, career prospects and working lives.
“I’m disappointed that the BMA have refused to consider further discussions about how to strengthen the deal on the table and have instead rushed once again to unnecessary and unreasonable strike action.
“I was clear with the BMA that after a 33.4 per cent pay rise for resident doctors over the last four years – the highest anywhere across the public sector – the BMA’s demands for further substantial pay increases this year are unrealistic, unaffordable, and unsustainable.
“These are simply not grounds for yet more strike action, which patients do not support, puts further pressure on other staff, and costs the NHS hundreds of millions of pounds.
“There are record numbers of doctors working in our NHS this year. Waiting lists are down and patient satisfaction is up. I urge the BMA to step back from more damaging strikes and work in partnership with the Government for the benefit of their members and the NHS.”
‘Labour has no plan to protect patients’
Stuart Andrew MP, the Shadow Health Secretary, said: “Labour handed resident doctors a 28 per cent pay rise and promised it would end the strikes, yet patients are once again facing cancelled appointments and disruption.
“Keir Starmer has failed to get a grip of this crisis. Labour does not have the backbone to stand up to the militant BMA, leaving patients to pay the price through more uncertainty yet again.
“As the NHS braces for another round of strikes, it is clear Labour has no plan to protect patients or taxpayers. Only the Conservatives are prepared to take the tough decisions by banning doctors’ strikes holding the NHS hostage.”
Strikes have cost the NHS enough to fund around 1.5 million operations or 15 million outpatient appointments.