Unions keen to talk as doctors return to work

WES Streeting has said he does not want to see resident doctors strike for “a single day” next year - as they returned to work after a five-day walkout.

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Health Secretary Wes Streeting

The Health Secretary said the strike, along with a rise in flu cases, had created the biggest threat to the NHS since he had come into office last year.

It comes as the British Medical Association (BMA) said the union is “keen to engage” with the Government, and will enter the new year with a “renewed can-do spirit”.

However, the union said 2026 “must see less name-calling and more deal-making”.

Resident doctors in England voted to take industrial action in the run-up to Christmas as part of the BMA's dispute with the Government over jobs and pay. They returned to work at 7am on Monday.