Streeting 'felt he had struck a deal' to avert strike by doctors

Wes Streeting believed he had struck a deal with resident doctors' leaders to stop the five-day strike in England going ahead, only for the British Medical Association to then reject it, sources have claimed.

- Denis Campbell

The health secretary thought he had verbal agreement with the co-chairs of the BMA's resident doctors committee for a deal involving progress on tackling five non-pay-related issues that frustrate resident doctors.

Whitehall sources say that Dr Ross Nieuwoudt and Dr Melissa Ryan approved the agreement during face-to-face talks last Tuesday as enough for the strike to be suspended.

The deal would have involved resident doctors - formerly junior doctors - getting access to hot meals when working overnight, having some of their exam fees paid, receiving funding for kit such as stethoscopes, and getting mess rooms and changes to the way their postgraduate training rotations are organised.

But when Nieuwoudt and Ryan relayed the potential deal to the full committee after the meeting, they were told they could not rubber-stamp it because it did not address the BMA's demand that resident doctors receive a 29% pay rise over the next few years.