Junior doctors in England are striking over repeated 12-month temporary contracts and proposed cuts to pay for additional work, arguing both harm career progression and patient care. Trainees say intense competition for training posts — roughly 10,000 places versus 30,000 applicants this year — leaves many stuck in insecure roles. The health secretary offered 1,000 extra training places and some fee relief but said pay cannot be increased further and criticised the strike for harming patients. Hospitals report contingency plans and ask patients to attend appointments unless told otherwise.
Junior Doctors Strike Over Short-Term Contracts and Pay Cuts as Training Bottleneck Deepens
Junior doctors in England are striking over repeated 12-month temporary contracts and proposed cuts to pay for additional work, arguing both harm career progression and patient care. Trainees say intense competition for training posts — roughly 10,000 places versus 30,000 applicants this year — leaves many stuck in insecure roles. The health secretary offered 1,000 extra training places and some fee relief but said pay cannot be increased further and criticised the strike for harming patients. Hospitals report contingency plans and ask patients to attend appointments unless told otherwise.
12:27 AM, 11/15/2025Health
Junior doctors in England strike amid frustration over temporary contracts and pay cuts
Junior doctors, now commonly called resident doctors, staged a five-day strike across several trusts in England, including Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire. The action, scheduled to run until 07:00 GMT on Wednesday, is driven by anger over successive 12-month temporary contracts in accident and emergency and proposed cuts to pay rates for additional work.
Dr Poppy Brown, 26, described the personal impact of short-term contracts after two years of unsuccessful applications for emergency medicine training. 'I would like to become an emergency medicine consultant eventually and in order to do that I need to get a training post in emergency medicine,' she said. 'I've applied for training for the past two years and I haven't been able to get a training post because of the competition. It's very frustrating; it feels very insecure.'
Union figures highlight a severe bottleneck at the training stage. Dr Peter Fahey, co-chair of the British Medical Association West Midlands Resident Doctors Committee, said that this year there were about 10,000 training posts but roughly 30,000 applicants, intensifying competition for posts that lead to consultant careers.
Dr Ben Cowdry, a GP registrar taking part in the strike, said public sympathy often grows once patients understand 'the jobs crisis within the NHS.' He warned that long waits for specialist hospital appointments — sometimes months or over a year — underline the need to train more doctors and place them into specialty training to reduce future waiting lists.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting criticised the strike as 'inflicting pain and misery' on patients but said the government could not increase pay further this year. He offered measures intended to help trainees progress, including bringing forward 1,000 extra speciality training places, waiving some exam and portfolio fees, and reimbursing certain out-of-pocket expenses, and said the BMA elected to continue industrial action.
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital reported a rise in flu admissions during the strike period. University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust said contingency plans are in place to protect patient safety and asked patients to attend appointments as planned unless they are contacted about rescheduling. Kara Maitra, the trust's chief operating officer, said services will prioritise the seriously ill or injured while aiming to preserve as much routine care as possible.
The dispute highlights tensions between trainee doctors seeking secure, progressive training pathways and the government balancing fiscal limits and workforce planning. Hospitals are managing staff shortages during a busy winter period while both sides continue talks amid public concern about disruption to care.