RESIDENT doctors are keen to resume talks with the government to avoid further strikes but “must see less name-calling and more deal-making” from Health Secretary Wes Streeting, said the British Medical Association (BMA) today.

Medics will enter 2026 a “renewed can-do spirit,” added the union as they returned to work after a five-day walkout in England as part of their long-running dispute over jobs and pay.

The BMA’s resident doctors committee chair Dr Jack Fletcher said: “What we need is a proper fix to this jobs crisis and a credible path towards restoring the lost value of the profession.

“That must mean the creation of genuinely new jobs, and it could involve a responsible multi-year approach to restoring doctors’ pay.

“Those are solutions that mean we can build out our future workforce to end the current crisis, solutions which are very much within government’s power.”

The strike followed 83 per cent of resident doctors voting to reject a government offer for more specialist training places but no extra pay. Turnout was 65 per cent.

Dr Fletcher said that medics are “frustrated by the year that has just passed,” which saw Mr Streeting compare them with juvenile delinquents and “moaning minnies.”

“There have been plenty of opportunities for strike action to have been avoided but all too often the government has moved too little and too late,” he added.

Mr Streeting claimed today that a 26 per cent pay rise is unaffordable and that the NHS “has only been able to cope because of the extraordinary efforts of the dedicated staff who work in it.”

Keep Our NHS Public co-chair Dr Tony O’Sullivan said: “Streeting conjured up an NHS ‘Armageddon’ to scapegoat doctors while acting blind to the perpetual crisis happening the rest of the year. 

“He must finally address the demoralisation of doctors and other staff, thousands of whom are leaving. 

“Wage awards have been seriously neutralised by inflation. Doctors are unemployed and without training routes to be the consultant anaesthetists, oncologists, radiologists and family doctors needed to turn the NHS around.”

He added that “2026 demands positive action from Streeting in place of posturing — and a commitment to the NHS in place of positioning for leadership.”

The BMA is balloting resident doctors to extend their strike mandate from January.