'Wes Streeting up to this kind must stand of blackmail'

IF there’s one thing Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Express readers and I can all agree on, it’s that we all love the NHS and want to protect it for the future.

- DR TOM DOLPHIN BMA Chairman

We all want to ensure it can continue providing cradle-to-grave care. But we cannot forget that its greatest asset is its staff.

During the pandemic, many resident doctors and others were shifted from their usual speciality to work in intensive care under extremely difficult conditions. The nation clapped but that didn’t stop their pay falling.

Resident doctors are not asking for a pay rise. Like all doctors, they’ve had their pay cut and want this to be reversed. Yes, they received an award last year that went some way towards this but we always said that was just the start. Mr Streeting himself agreed, saying pay restoration is “a journey and not an event”.

Unfortunately, this journey has hit a roadblock.