A fresh wave of strikes by junior doctors has been announced for next month.

The British Medical Association (BMA) said today (Wednesday, May 29) that members would be striking ahead of the upcoming General Election - blaming Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for "continuing to refuse to meet junior doctors’ demands over lost pay".

Strikes are scheduled to take place beginning at 7am on June 27 and ending 7am on July 2 and are planned to be a full walkout of all junior doctors, including those at York Hospital.

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The BMA said: “After the general election was called last week, the BMA gave the Government a final opportunity to make an offer and avoid strikes.

“This opportunity has not been taken up.”

Junior doctors in England staged the longest strike in NHS history in January, for six full days from January 3 to January 9 of this year. The latest action will last for five full days.

The latest round will be the 11th strike by junior doctors since March 2023 with the last strike by junior doctors, from February 24 to 28 this year, leading to 91,048 appointments, operations and procedures being postponed nationally.

The health secretary challenged Labour to condemn the junior doctors’ decision to strike during the election campaign, describing the junior doctors’ decision as a “highly cynical tactic”.

Writing on X, Victoria Atkins said: “Today should be the day the Labour Party finally condemn junior doctor strikes. Announcing this during an election and on Labour’s health day shows this was only ever political and not about patients or staff.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, however, has branded the fact a decision was yet to be reached as "unforgivable". Speaking to broadcasters during a campaign visit to the University of Worcester, he said: “Firstly, I’m shocked that we’re in this position because this has been going on a very long time.

"I think the Government should have resolved it and negotiated a settlement. And what they’ve effectively done is kicked it to the other side of the General Election. That’s unforgivable.

“Obviously, I don’t want the strike to go ahead. I don’t think health staff want to go on strike and it really impacts on patients, so I don’t want it to go ahead, but if we are privileged enough to come in to serve, then it will fall to us to settle this and to come to an agreement so the NHS gets back to working in the way that it desperately needs to for so many people on the waiting lists.”

BMA junior doctors committee co-chairs Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi said: “We made clear to the Government that we would strike unless discussions ended in a credible pay offer. For more than 18 months we have been asking Rishi Sunak to put forward proposals to restore the pay junior doctors have lost over the past 15 years – equal to more than a quarter in real terms. 

“When we entered mediation with Government this month, we did so under the impression that we had a functioning government that would soon be making an offer. Clearly no offer is now forthcoming. Junior doctors are fed up and out of patience.

“Even at this late stage, Mr Sunak has the opportunity to show that he cares about the NHS and its workers. It is finally time for him to make a concrete commitment to restore doctors’ pay. If during this campaign he makes such a public commitment that is acceptable to the BMA’s junior doctors committee, then no strikes need go ahead."

A spokesperson from York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “The junior doctor strikes are likely to have an impact, although other doctors, including consultants and other specialist doctors, will still be working during this period.

“During the action, we will prioritise urgent and emergency treatment to protect patient safety and ensure those in life-saving emergencies receive the best possible care.

“Anyone with an appointment should continue to attend as planned, unless contacted.”