HUNDREDS of thousands of NHS appointments and operations could be cancelled should a ballot of resident doctors in England see a majority back renewed strike action on Tuesday.

Expectations for industrial action rose when Dr Ross Nieuwoudt, the co-chair of the British Medical Association’s resident doctors committee, said that the “vast majority” of members backed walkouts at its annual conference last month.

The ballot on whether or not to stage six months of strikes, from this month into next winter and up to January 2026, was called after Health Secretary Wes Streeting awarded them a 5.4 per cent pay rise for this year.

The BMA described the sum as “derisory” and “woefully inadequate” given its demands that resident doctors receive “full pay restoration” to make up for a 23 per cent loss in the value of their salaries since 2008.

The union says a pay rise of 29 per cent over the next few years in needed.

NHS Employers chief executive Danny Mortimer said: “The last thing health leaders want is more industrial action, which will likely lead to tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of appointments and operations being cancelled, leaving patients in pain and frustration.

“A decision to strike after the largest series of pay awards in the public sector would be a troubling development.”

The Department of Health and Social Care said: “We want to work constructively with all unions to avoid disrupting services for patients. 

“We are on a journey to improve conditions for resident doctors, and they have received a pay rise of 28.9 per cent over the last three years.”