Union and government restarting talks to end doctor dispute

The government and the British Medical Association will restart talks in the coming days to end the long-running resident doctor dispute in England.

It comes after BMA leaders met Health Secretary Wes Streeting on Tuesday, following a five-day walkout at the end of July.

The BMA said it had agreed to a “window for negotiations”.

This is understood to mean there will now be a series of talks over the coming weeks with no more strike action called in the meantime.

Last week Streeting said he was willing to meet again but would not negotiate on pay as resident doctors, the new name for junior doctors, had received pay rises totalling nearly 30% in the past three years.

Previous talks, held ahead of July’s five-day strike, the 12th since March 2023, had centred on career…