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Public support for doctor strikes is declining

Public support for doctor strikes is declining

The survey found about half (52%) of people in the UK either 'somewhat oppose' (20%) or 'strongly oppose' (32%) the idea of resident doctors going on strike over pay.
Meanwhile, a third (34%) of the 4,954 adults surveyed either 'somewhat support' (23%) or 'strongly support' (11%) doctor strikes.
Most Britons are now opposed to resident doctors going on strike over pay, as currently scheduled to take place from Friday
Support: 34% (-5 from 27 May)Oppose: 52% (+4) pic.twitter.com/fcdfIsLvDO
— YouGov (@YouGov) July 21, 2025
Older people are more likely to be against, with 52% of those aged over 65 'strongly opposed', compared with 10% of those aged 18 to 24.
YouGov said the proportion supporting the strike over pay has dropped five points since it last asked the question in May.
Back then, 48% opposed resident doctors striking, while 39% supported them taking action.
It comes as the British Medical Association (BMA) condemned NHS England's plans for the health service during the five-day walkout, which begins at 7am on Friday.
NHS England has written to NHS bosses urging them not to cancel pre-planned care wherever possible.
The letter urges the health system to focus on maintaining emergency care, maintaining the flow of patients and 'maintaining elective care to the fullest extent possible' as well as 'priority treatments' such as cancer care.
'It will be important for systems and trusts to try and maintain normal levels of booked activity…' the letter said.
It added: 'Reducing volumes of bookings and rescheduling of appointments and other activity should only happen in exceptional circumstances to safeguard patient safety.'
We've written to NHS England with concerns about inadequate planning ahead of possible strike action later this week. Attempts to run non-urgent services with fewer doctors risk patient safety. It's imperative that Trusts postpone work to protect urgent and emergency care. pic.twitter.com/cUtMdox9kg
— The BMA (@TheBMA) July 21, 2025
On Tuesday morning, BMA deputy chairwoman Dr Emma Runswick told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the plan risked patient safety.
She said: 'We've had proven systems over the last decade that have made sure that where we have to take strike action, senior doctors cover urgency and critical care.
'This time round, NHS England are pushing for the continuation of non-urgent and scheduled care in a way that we think at best is confusing and will create on-the-day cancellations – and at worst could be risky and lead to harm in emergency departments and on wards, because senior doctors cannot physically be in two places at once.
'We think that a notional guidance from NHS England which is saying that basically all scheduled work should continue to go ahead has potential to be seriously risky for patients.'
During previous rounds of industrial action in 2023 and 2024, NHS England told trusts they could cancel large volumes of non-urgent care so that consultants could step in to cover emergency services.
But under the leadership of new NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey, hospitals have been given tougher rules over cancellations and said they may need prior approval.
Dr Runswick said: 'Senior doctors are needed to be freed up in order to provide urgency and critical care.
'We think the vast majority of planned and unscheduled care should be shifted.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has ruled out any additional pay rise (Lucy North/PA)
'There are always, in every hospital, local medical managers, local clinical leaders, who will make decisions about what is safe to go ahead – but trying to maintain scheduled care during this strike is not safe in many cases.'
Professor Meghana Pandit, NHS England's co-national medical director for secondary care, said: 'The safest thing for patients is for the NHS to maintain as much urgent and planned care as possible during strikes, and we would encourage the BMA to work with us constructively to achieve this in the event industrial action goes ahead.'
Talks between the Government and the BMA have continued in recent days, though Health Secretary Wes Streeting has ruled out extra pay rises.
The BMA has also issued guidance for consultants regarding the extra pay they can seek for covering work during the strike that is not in their contracts.
The BMA 'rate card' says consultants can ask for £188 per hour on weekdays from 7am-7pm and £250 an hour from 7pm to 11pm.
At weekends, the pay claim can rise to £250 per hour from 7am to 11am and £313 per hour for overnight work from 11pm to 7am.
The BMA guidance to consultants regarding the strike said: 'Consultants will no doubt want to work with employers to ensure that services are still able to operate effectively.
Consultants and SAS doctors in England – look out for your indicative ballot email from @TheBMA today!
Wes Streeting called pay restoration "a journey, not an event" – so why have we stopped?
Are you prepared to stand up to demand your value is recognised by the government? pic.twitter.com/f5KJ1colP7
— Tom Dolphin🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️ (@thomasdolphin) July 21, 2025
'However, they should not be expected to do so without agreement and without being appropriately remunerated…
'If you choose to cover such work, we recommend that you negotiate payment at an appropriate rate using our ⁠consultant rate card for non-contractual work.'
Resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, were awarded an average 5.4% pay increase this financial year, following a 22% rise over the previous two years.
However, the BMA says real-terms pay has still fallen by around 20% since 2008, and is pushing for full 'pay restoration'.
Resident doctors are qualified doctors in clinical training.
They have completed a medical degree and can have up to nine years of working experience as a hospital doctor, depending on their specialty, or up to five years of working and gaining experience to become a general practitioner (GP).
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A five-day walkout by resident doctors in England is under way, with members of the British Medical Association (BMA) manning picket lines across the country. The Health Secretary condemned the strike as 'reckless' and said the Government would not allow the BMA to 'hold the country to ransom'. Asked about the risk of patient harm during a visit to NHS England HQ in London, he told the PA news agency on Friday: 'I'm really proud of the way that NHS leaders and frontline staff have prepared and mobilised to minimise the disruption and minimise the risk of harm to patients. 'We've seen an extraordinary response, including people cancelling their leave, turning up for work, and resident doctors themselves ignoring their union to be there for patients. I'm extremely grateful to all of them. 'What I can't do today is guarantee that there will be no disruption and that there is no risk of harm to patients. 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On whether strikes are going to become the 'new normal', he added: 'As I've said before, the BMA have had a 28.9% pay award from this Government, and we were willing to go further to help on some of the working conditions that doctors face. 'That offer of joint working, that partnership approach, that hasn't gone away, but it does take two to tango, and I hope that the BMA will reflect very carefully on the disruption they are inflicting on patients, the pressures they're putting on their colleagues, and the circumstances in which they are doing so – a 28.9% pay rise and a government that was willing to work with them. 'Those are not grounds for strike action.' It comes after Sir Keir Starmer made a last-minute appeal to resident doctors, saying the strikes would 'cause real damage'. He added: 'Most people do not support these strikes. They know they will cause real damage… 'These strikes threaten to turn back the clock on progress we have made in rebuilding the NHS over the last year, choking off the recovery.' The BMA has argued that real-terms pay has fallen by around 20% since 2008, and is pushing for full 'pay restoration'. The union took out national newspaper adverts on Friday, saying it wanted to 'make clear that while a newly qualified doctor's assistant is taking home over £24 per hour, a newly qualified doctor with years of medical school experience is on just £18.62 per hour'. BMA council chairman Dr Tom Dolphin told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the union had been expecting more pay for doctors. He said: 'Where we were last year when we started the pay campaign, we were down a third on our pay compared to 2008. 'So you've got last year's pay offer which did indeed move us towards (pay restoration), but Wes Streeting himself said that pay restoration is a journey, not an event, implying that there would be further pay restoration to come, and we were expecting our pay to be restored in full – that's our campaign's goal. 'We got part way there, but then that came to a halt this year – we've only had an offer that brings us up, just to catch up with inflation.' Asked what it would take for doctors to go back to work, he said the BMA needed to see 'a clear, guaranteed pathway' to pay restoration. He added that 'it's very disappointing to see a Labour Government taking such a hard line against trade unions'. Elsewhere, the Nottingham City Hospital – where Dr Melissa Ryan, co-chairwoman of the BMA's resident doctors' committee works in paediatrics – reached an agreement with the BMA to exempt one doctor from the strike to work on the neonatal intensive care unit. Speaking from a London picket line, Dr Ryan told The Times: 'I do know that we've granted a derogation already. It is actually at my work, with the babies on one of the neonatal units I work on. That is because it is an intensive care unit for babies. 'We don't have enough senior staff to cover the doctors that aren't there, the residents. And actually, it is important to us that those very sick babies get a lot of care. So we have granted a resident doctor to go back.' The BMA said it had also agreed a derogation for two anaesthetists to work at University Hospital Lewisham on Saturday to ensure patient safety. Louise Stead, group chief executive of Ashford and St Peter's and Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trusts, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that around 500 appointments were being rescheduled 'but we are continuing to do about 96% of the work we've had planned'.

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