England resident doctors to strike 17–22 December

Here’s the week set out plainly: resident doctors in England will stage a five‑day strike from 07:00 on Wednesday 17 December to 07:00 on Monday 22 December. Over the weekend, 83% of participating BMA members voted to proceed in an online poll with a 65% turnout, so the walkout goes ahead. Reuters and the Guardian reported the vote; the Independent confirmed the timing. This will be the 14th strike since the dispute began in March 2023.

Ministers asked doctors to pause action after a new offer landed late last week. The package, set out by Health Secretary Wes Streeting, focused on jobs not pay: thousands of extra specialist training posts over three years, prioritising UK‑trained graduates, and reimbursement of mandatory exam and college fees. Crucially, it contained no new pay for 2025/26. The Financial Times, the Guardian and Reuters each set out those details; the BMA called the proposal “too little, too late”.

If you’re teaching this topic, the numbers are central. The government says resident doctors have received average uplifts totalling 28.9% across the last three years and that there is no further headroom this year. The BMA argues pay is still well below 2008 levels once inflation is accounted for and is seeking a further 26% over time to restore losses. The government’s pay award page and the Guardian’s explainer set out both positions.

Who are “resident doctors”? They are fully qualified doctors in postgraduate training or working in similar hospital roles prior to becoming consultants or GPs. The BMA adopted the new title in September 2024 to better reflect experience, and said the government would follow the terminology. NHS England estimates about 79,000 resident doctors work in the service-roughly half of all doctors.

How the decision was made this time matters for media literacy. The BMA ran an indicative online poll on whether to pause this week’s strike; if members had chosen “pause”, a formal referendum on the detailed offer would have followed. Because members voted to proceed, this week’s action stands and there is no referendum yet. The Guardian set out that two‑step process.

What services run during strikes? Emergency and urgent care continue; people should call 999 in life‑threatening situations, use NHS 111 for urgent advice, and attend appointments unless told otherwise. Resident doctors withdraw from all duties during a full walkout, so consultants and other senior clinicians are drafted in to staff emergency cover, with safety‑critical “derogations” agreed where needed. NHS England and BMA guidance explain this approach.

Why winter pressure is part of the argument: flu admissions are climbing fast. UKHSA surveillance shows a sharp rise in early December as H3N2 circulates, and the Guardian reports an average of about 2,660 patients with flu in hospital each day-more than 50% up week‑on‑week. That’s why the prime minister called a pre‑Christmas strike “beyond belief” and “reckless” this year.

What this means for you, your family, or your students: unless your hospital texts or emails to reschedule, your planned care should go ahead. If you need urgent help that isn’t an emergency, NHS 111 online will guide you to the right place; for life‑threatening issues, call 999 or go to A&E as usual. NHS England repeats this guidance ahead of every round of action.

For balanced classroom discussion, keep both cases in view. Ministers say the priority is fixing training bottlenecks and creating posts, arguing further pay rises after a three‑year uplift would be unfair and unaffordable. The BMA says pay restoration and secure training routes are both essential to keep doctors in the NHS, and that last week’s offer did not meet that test. Reuters and the Financial Times carry both perspectives.

What happens next? Beyond this week, the BMA is reballoting resident doctors in England from 8 December 2025 to 2 February 2026 to extend the legal strike mandate into next year. If the mandate is renewed and there is still no deal, further action is possible. The union’s timetable is set out on the BMA media centre.