England resident doctors to strike from 17 Dec
From 17 December 2025, resident doctors in England plan a five-day walkout in a long-running pay dispute. The British Medical Association announced the action, as reported by BBC News, and significant disruption is expected, particularly in hospitals. We’re going to unpack who is striking, what services change, and why the pay figures you hear don’t always mean the same thing.
Resident doctors is the new name for what many of us still call junior doctors. It includes doctors straight out of medical school as well as those with up to a decade of experience. According to BBC News, they make up nearly half of the medical workforce. When such a large group steps back, the ripple effects are felt across wards, clinics and rotas.
During strike days, resident doctors will withdraw from both emergency and routine care. Hospitals bring in senior doctors to provide cover. Care continues under that senior-led cover, but with fewer teams on hand, queues can lengthen and planned procedures are more likely to be postponed. That’s why the NHS warns of major pressure during industrial action.
This will be the 14th round of action since March 2023 and follows a five-day strike last month after talks between the union and the government collapsed. A pattern has formed: intensive negotiations, no agreement on pay, and then another stoppage. Understanding that cycle helps you see why both sides are now signalling hard lines.
Ministers offered a package centred on non-pay changes: more training posts, improvements to working conditions and help with out-of-pocket costs such as exam fees. Health Secretary Wes Streeting says he will not reopen pay, pointing to pay rises totalling nearly 30% for resident doctors over the past three years. That figure is often presented in cash terms and across multiple grades.
The BMA argues those headline rises don’t restore lost ground. Its case is that, once inflation is included, resident doctor pay is still about a fifth lower than in 2008. Think of it this way: if prices rise faster than your salary, your pay buys less. That’s the real-terms picture the union highlights when it talks about ‘pay restoration’.
Dr Jack Fletcher, who chairs the BMA’s resident doctors committee, said the union had no choice after ministers failed to produce what it sees as a credible plan. He also said the strikes ‘do not need to go ahead’ if government agrees to gradual pay rises over several years alongside improvements to job security.
If you’re a patient, expect disruption in the run-up to and during the strike window. Providers typically contact people to rearrange planned care, so look out for texts, calls or portal messages. If you work alongside hospital teams in community or social care, assume pressure will spill over as discharge timings shift and bed space tightens.
The current legal mandate for industrial action expires in early January, and the BMA says it will hold another ballot of members. A renewed mandate would allow further strikes if no agreement is reached. That’s why the coming weeks matter: either both sides find a compromise, or the dispute rolls into the new year.
As you weigh the claims, ask three quick questions of any pay statistic you see: is it cash or inflation-adjusted; which years are being compared; and which grades are included. This simple habit explains how ministers can cite a near-30% rise while the union points to a 20% real-terms fall-two statements that can both be true in different frames.