Wes Streeting was met by members of the British Medical Association (BMA) on Tuesday morning to talk about the salary and working conditions strike junior doctors have been on for over a year.
The junior doctors’ committee chair of the BMA union, Dr. Vivek Trivedi, together with Dr. Robert Laurenson described the discussion with Mr. Streeting as “positive” after it had concluded.
“We were pleased to be able to meet the secretary of state and his team so quickly after the general election – it signifies the urgency that they’re placing on resolving this dispute,” said Dr. Trivedi.
When questioned, the two did not, however, exclude out taking additional strikes.
They expressed confidence that the discussion went well and that they and the secretary of state will get together again the following week to continue talking about how we can move forward.
Reducing the 6.3 million patients on the NHS waiting list is one of Sir Keir Starmer’s six first tasks for government that were announced prior to the election.
Mr. Streeting made the following remark in a statement following the meeting: “I’m hopeful that we can halt the strike action because patients, staff, and the NHS have already paid a price that is too high.
