Carry on, doctor! Two thirds of resident physicians defy calls to join five-day walkout in huge blow to militant unions’ bid to wreak hospital havoc with strikes

The vast majority of resident doctors have defied strike calls by militant union chiefs determined to wreak havoc in NHS hospitals, figures revealed tonight.

Official statistics from health bosses show a huge drop in the numbers who joined last week’s five-day walkout, with two-thirds of medics snubbing the order. 

The news is likely to prove deeply embarrassing for union leaders, who are demanding that resident doctors – formerly known as junior doctors – receive a salary rise of 29 per cent to reverse ‘pay erosion’ since 2008.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting heaped praise on the strike refuseniks, saying: ‘Due to the dedication of NHS staff and a different operational approach from previous strikes, we have managed to significantly reduce disruption to patients, with early indications showing that 10,000 extra patients received care compared with previous strike action.

‘A majority of resident doctors didn’t vote for strike action and data shows that less than a third took part.’

Mr Streeting also condemned the ‘damaging’ and ‘unnecessary’ industrial action organised by the British Medical Association (BMA), saying it ‘came at a cost to patients’.

‘Rather than cave in to the BMA’s demands, hospital leaders worked hard to maintain as much planned care as possible,’ he added.

The Health Secretary – who was treated for kidney cancer in 2021 – also told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I spoke to a kidney cancer patient last week whose surgery was postponed by a month due to these strikes.

‘As someone who has faced the agonising wait for cancer treatment, I know how hard this unnecessary action would hit him and his loved ones.

‘Every cancelled appointment means more pain for patients already waiting too long. 

‘Every postponed procedure piles pressure on overstretched colleagues picking up the pieces.’

Saturday night’s figures by NHS England reveal that the Health Service maintained 93 per cent of planned care – operations, tests and procedures – during the five-day strike.

In total nearly 1,300 fewer doctors walked out compared with the strikes in June 2024 – a 7.5 per cent drop.

West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust was the best performing Trust, with 98 per cent of patient care delivered.

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust also managed to deliver 95 per cent of care, with bosses saying it saw ’10 per cent to 15 per cent’ fewer resident doctors go on strike.

David Probert, chief executive of UCLH, said the Trust managed to keep services running thanks to consultants rearranging their weekly shift patterns at no extra cost.

‘When presented with a problem you find ways to cope,’ he added. ‘People were flexible and brilliant and stood up.’

However, he also warned doctors against any further industrial action later this year, saying: ‘The general view is that we can cope for a one-off period and help, but if this were to carry on again until December, that would clearly be a challenge.’

Resident doctors, who make up about half of all medics in the NHS, have up to eight years’ experience working as a hospital doctor, or up to three years in general practice.

Despite the BMA’s salary demands, they have had the most generous salary awards of all public-sector workers for two years in a row, with their pay rising 28.9 per cent over the last three years.

However, the BMA claims that real-terms pay for resident doctors has actually fallen by 21 per cent in 17 years.

Last week’s walkouts are the latest example of Left-wing activism against Keir Starmer’s government, with teachers and nurses also expected to ballot on industrial action.

Labour’s biggest financial backer, Unite, is threatening to pull funding from the party and has suspended Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner’s membership over her failure to back the Birmingham bin strikes.

Shadow health minister Dr Caroline Johnson MP said: ‘The BMA is not acting in the interests of patients – it’s abusing its power.

‘Labour rolled over on day one, handing out inflation-busting pay rises without securing a single reform.

‘Now Angela Rayner wants to go further, scrapping strike ballot thresholds and giving militant unions even more freedom to grind public services to a halt. 

‘Patients are paying the price for Labour’s cowardice.’

NHS chief executive Sir James Mackey said: ‘The NHS has come together like never before to minimise the impact of strikes on patients.

‘While this is really good news for the vast majority of patients whose treatment went ahead, we should still acknowledge there were thousands whose care was disrupted.

‘NHS staff will continue to work hard to ensure patients can get their rescheduled care as soon as possible, but for those patients – and for all our staff who had to work extra shifts or with different responsibilities – a repeat of this action will be unacceptable.’

A BMA spokesman said: ‘NHS England’s claim that the majority of England’s 77,000 resident doctors chose to ‘Join the NHS-wide effort to keep the services open’, requires a huge stretch of the imagination, given it is almost impossible to know the exact number of residents working on any given day because of complex work patterns, on-call schedules and the strike spread across a weekend.

‘Added to that, in July many doctors are using up their annual leave before their new posts start and would therefore not show up as striking.

‘We look forward to seeing hard and fast data on NHS England’s claim.

‘Even with NHS England’s determination to carry on, we know that operations will have been postponed and clinics rescheduled.

‘But all of that could have been avoided if the Health Secretary had been serious in his intent to find a negotiated settlement with us.’