Residents Doctor’s Strike – it’s more than just pay
- Dr Onkar
- Dec 19, 2025
- 4 min read
Why this strike is about more than pay
The Resident Doctor’s strike is more than pay, it is a barometer of the NHS. It is about career progression, it is about career satisfaction, it is about recruitment and retention. It is about the future of the NHS we all rely on at the hour of our most need.
A workforce stretched to breaking point
The Resident Doctors’ strike affects us all. It has also divided public opinion, particularly around whether it is right for doctors to strike at Christmas. Certainly, the debate is being carried out by the government and the British Medical Council (BMA) on the airwaves to shift public opinion in each other’s favour. For the sake of the NHS, both sides should seek common ground rather than entrenching positions.
It is not an easy decision for any doctor to strike, after all they worked very hard and long hours to qualify as doctors and enter a profession in which they wanted to help others. Medical students work very hard to get admission to their medical school and when asked why they want to study medicine, they will all have said because “we want to help others in their hour of need”. Yet it is now those very same people who are deciding by ballot, after the government’s 11th hour revised offer, as to whether to proceed with their planned strike action or not before Christmas.
The NHS is no longer facing a seasonal crisis
We no longer have a seasonal crisis in the NHS - it is in an all-year state of crisis due to years of underinvestment and workforce pressures.
Key indicators highlight the challenges:
Many doctors and nurses work longer than their contracted hours to keep patients safe and ensure smooth handovers at the end of their shifts. This goodwill keeps the NHS running, but it is running out as Resident Doctors feel betrayed and undervalued.
How years of underinvestment have led us here
The state of the NHS is not the fault of the present government. The government is having to turn around a tanker of public service that has had years of under investment and sticky plaster repairs by the previous governments. The current government was in opposition for 13 years and the public and health professionals believed the government had an “oven ready solution” to get the NHS into a statement of fitness. Sadly, that is not the case and cannot be as the NHS needs fundamental reforms to get it fit for the 21st Century. The reforms required will take more than a 5-year political cycle to show results and no government will implement them for fear of losing the next general election. What is required is a national debate, led by the government, on what the nation wants from the NHS and what it is prepared to pay for it. This will take out the politics out of healthcare.
Trust between government and doctors
There is clearly a mistrust between the government and the BMA that is negotiating on behalf of the Resident Doctors. Successive governments have let down the Resident Doctor’s on their working conditions and pay, resulting in many doctors leaving the country or giving up medicine all together. The current government says that it has already given the largest pay settlement of any public sector (28% rise over three years) but it is still down in real terms. The Resident Doctors say it is like someone owing you £30 and returning £20 of them and saying be grateful for it.
The role of public debate
Trust cannot be built by publicly discrediting one another. The government and the BMA should show constraint in that and not feed the media. Last weekend we had government ministers and NHS Providers piling guilt and moral pressure on the Resident Doctor’s and the BMA defending. This is no way to conduct negotiations and build trust. I know and the public should know too, that Resident Doctors will not leave patients at risk or go on strike if the staffing levels are unsafe.
During the last strike, my two-week-old granddaughter was taken ill. Despite this, she received safe, high-quality care. That experience reinforced mine and my family's belief that doctors do not take strike action lightly and will not put patient care at risk. We were truly grateful for the care she received.
The need for NHS reform
The NHS does need reform, it needs a workforce that is content and valued. The government does need to deliver for the taxpayers especially as it asked taxpayers to step up by paying more taxes in the last budget so that the government could invest more in the NHS.
What should happen next
I do not believe Resident Doctors would abandon their posts or put patients at risk during a strike. The recent upsurge in hospital admissions due to flu may lead to cancellations of elective surgery as there will be no beds available. The government should not scapegoat doctors for this. However, Resident Doctors should postpone the planned Christmas strike to give the government a chance to show its integrity and desire to address their concerns promptly.
Author: Dr Onkar Sahota MBA FRCGP
Former Chair of the London Assembly Health Committee & GP
