Hundreds of junior doctors in England vote to extend strike action until January 2024

Medics striking earlier this year. Credit: PA

Strikes by hundreds of junior doctors could now take place until at least January 2024, following a union vote on Tuesday.

Members of the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) in England voted to extend industrial action by another six months – with 96.5% in favour.

The re-ballot result comes as HCSA junior doctors prepare to walk out, alongside their counterparts in the BMA union, during a five day strike from July 13.

Of the 401 HCSA members who sent back their ballots, 387 voted to extend strike action. 602 members were eligible to vote.

The renewed mandate means strikes by HCSA members could now take place until at least January 4 2024.

In a letter to Rishi Sunak following the vote, HCSA president Dr Naru Narayanan asked the Prime Minister to “be brave” and urged him to allow government negotiators to find a way out of this dispute.

Striking NHS junior doctors on the picket line outside Leicester Royal Infirmary earlier this year Credit: Jacob King/PA

Dr Narayanan said: “The failure to negotiate meaningfully on the very real grievances of junior doctors is frankly unfathomable.

“If we are to have any hope of a resolution, it seems clear that your government will need to move its position.

"It will need to find the bravery to acknowledge and engage with the grievances of hospital doctors to seek a longer-term solution on pay erosion.”

He added: “Junior doctors have today shown their resolve in a dispute which has already gone on too long but which due to government stubbornness could now stretch on into winter.

“It has yet to move substantially on an offer it tabled months ago and it seems increasingly that the Prime Minister himself has emerged as a barrier to progress.

“No-one in their right mind wants to see the impact on the NHS of these strikes, least of all doctors who have dedicated their career to caring for patients.

“However, unless he changes his dogged insistence on trying to frame this dispute in terms of wider economics we will be condemned to further disruption and strikes.

“We are urging Rishi Sunak and his government to be brave and soften their position so we can reach a longer-term settlement – one which satisfies the very real grievances of junior doctors who fear for staffing and services due to massive real-terms erosion of pay. There is a path out of this dispute.”

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...