The British Medical Association said it will press ahead with a five-day strike by resident doctors across England from 7 a.m. this Friday until the same time next Wednesday, after last-minute talks with Health Secretary Wes Streeting failed to yield a revised pay offer. The walkout will be the first under Prime Minister Keir Starmer and could involve as many as 50,000 medics. Streeting had indicated a willingness to discuss pension, debt and career progression reforms but ruled out revisiting this year’s 5.4% pay rise. The BMA insisted the dispute remains centred on restoring pay that it says has fallen by more than 20% in real terms since 2008. NHS England has asked hospitals to maintain elective care “to the fullest extent possible,” abandoning the Christmas-Day-only cover used in earlier stoppages. The union argues that the new policy jeopardises patient safety, while the government says the strike itself risks further disruption. Forty-four days of junior-doctor action in 2023–24 led to an estimated 1.5 million cancelled appointments and cost the health service about £1.5 billion. Public support also appears to be slipping: a YouGov survey published this week found 52% of adults oppose the latest strike, with 34% in favour.