Resident doctors in England, United Kingdom, have voted to accept a government package on pay and career progression, ending a wave of industrial action that has disrupted the NHS for the past three years.
The agreement, backed by 53% of eligible members of the British Medical Association in a referendum, includes improved pay, additional training opportunities and support for professional expenses such as exam fees.
A total of 32,932 doctors took part in the vote, representing a turnout of 57%.
The settlement follows years of strikes that led to the cancellation of hundreds of thousands of patient appointments across England.
Under the deal, resident doctors will receive a 3.5% pay rise for the current year, in line with recommendations from an independent pay review body.
The government said the package also includes backdated pay from April 1, 2026, bringing the average increase to 4.9%.
According to the BMA, the average rise will reach 6.6% by April 2027, with a further uplift expected afterwards.
Starting salaries for resident doctors will exceed £40,000, while the most senior doctors in the grade will earn £76,500 in basic pay. Additional earnings are available through overtime, unsociable hours and other allowances.
The agreement also guarantees 4,500 extra training posts for newly qualified doctors and commits to covering examination fees.
The BMA’s resident doctors committee chair Dr Jack Fletcher said, “These strikes did not need to happen.
“We spent far too long at loggerheads with the government when a solution in everyone’s interest was waiting for us: more jobs for doctors, better pay for doctors, and a better-staffed NHS secured for patients well into the future.”
Health and Social Care Secretary James Murray said drawing a line under the disruption was good news for resident doctors, patients and the NHS as a whole.
Elsewhere in the UK, resident doctors in Wales are working through pay and training-related disputes without taking strike action, while their counterparts in Scotland have already accepted a government pay offer.
In Northern Ireland, however, resident doctors began a 24-hour strike at 07:00 BST on June 29.
Resident doctors are fully qualified medical practitioners who have completed medical school and represent nearly half of the doctor workforce in England.
They work across NHS services, including accident and emergency departments and GP practices.
After completing a medical degree and two years of compulsory foundation training, many go on to specialise in specific areas of medicine or surgery.
The title “resident doctor” replaced “junior doctor” in September 2024 after the government agreed that the new designation more accurately reflected their level of training and responsibility.
