UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting opened last-ditch talks on Thursday with leaders of the British Medical Association’s resident doctors committee in an effort to avert a five-day national walkout scheduled for 25–30 July. Streeting has ruled out offering more than this year’s 5.4% pay award but said officials are examining non-pay incentives to keep doctors at work and stem a growing staffing exodus. According to people briefed on the discussions, the Department of Health and Social Care is modelling a scheme that would let younger doctors see part of their student loan debts—often as high as £100,000—written off or interest-free for each year they remain in the National Health Service. The proposal comes as the BMA presses for a 29% pay rise to restore earnings eroded since 2008; the union said it is "willing to discuss all options" but maintains the strike plan until concrete offers emerge. Patient-safety concerns have intensified the pressure for a deal. Coroners have linked five deaths to delays during previous resident-doctor stoppages, and NHS England data show earlier strikes forced the cancellation of about 1.5 million appointments and operations. Health-service leaders warn that the looming action, the longest yet, risks further loss of life and disruption just as waiting-list backlogs begin to ease. Opposition to the walkout is also growing inside the medical profession. IVF pioneer and Labour peer Lord Robert Winston resigned from the BMA after six decades, calling the strike "highly dangerous" and arguing it undermines public trust in doctors. Streeting similarly contends that the public "will not forgive" a fresh stoppage while the NHS remains fragile.