DOCTORS will stage a five-day strike in England later this month, the British Medical Association (BMA) announced today following a meeting with Health Secretary Wes Streeting.

BMA resident doctors committee co-chairs Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt said in a joint statement that they had made “every attempt to avoid strike action by opening negotiations for pay restoration.

“Unfortunately, the government has stated that it will not negotiate on pay, wanting to focus on non-pay elements, without suggesting what these might be. 

“Without a credible offer to keep us on the path to restore our pay, we have no choice but to call strikes.”

The union has given the government two weeks to avert the strikes, planned from 7am on July 25 to 7am on July 30.

In a BMA ballot that closed on Monday, some 90 per cent of voting resident doctors backed strike action on a 55 per cent turnout.

The ballot was called after Mr Streeting awarded them a 5.4 per cent pay rise for this year.

The BMA described the sum as “derisory” and “woefully inadequate,” given its demands that resident doctors receive “full pay restoration” to make up for a 23 per cent loss in the value of their salaries since 2008.

It says a pay rise of 29 per cent over the next few years is needed, based on the retail price index (RPI) rate of inflation.

Drs Ryan and Nieuwoudt added: “No doctor wants to strike and these strikes don’t have to go ahead.

“If Mr Streeting can seriously come to the table in the next two weeks, we can ensure that no disruption is caused.”

Keep Our NHS public co-chair Dr Tony O'Sullivan said: “The Government must now see this urgency and stop the macho action-man stuff of refusing to talk about pay.

“They must stop investing in the private sector and start investing in our dedicated workforce and the public service they work for, restoring pay and respect to our NHS staff."

The Health Secretary has claimed that the public “will not forgive” strike action by resident doctors, writing in the Times the government that “can’t afford” more pay rises.

Last September, BMA members voted to accept a pay deal worth 22.3 per cent on average over the previous two years.

They were awarded a 4 per cent uplift plus £750 “on a consolidated basis” for this financial year, which worked out as an average pay rise of 5.4 per cent.

A No 10 spokesman said: “We aren’t going to reopen negotiations on pay.”