Junior doctors begin six-day strike as Wes Streeting says action has cost £3billion

Junior doctors begin six-day strike as Wes Streeting says action has cost £3billionThe walkout from 7am Tuesday is the 15th by resident doctors since 2023 and the joint-longest. It comes after they were given a 3.5% pay rise for 2026/27CommentsNewsMartin Bagot Health and Science Editor10:53, 07 Apr 2026Updated 10:55, 07 Apr 2026View ImageResident doctors on strike outside St Thomas' Hospital in London(Image: Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)Wes Streeting says the Government could have built a “few” hospitals for the £3 billion cost of covering doctors’ strikes in recent years.‌The Health Secretary has been making the case that strikes are “unreasonable” in a series of broadcast interviews this morning as resident doctors begin a six-day strike across England. It is the 60th day of walkouts by the doctors since 2023 with NHS estimates previously putting the cost at about £50 million a day for staff cover and rescheduled operations.‌The intervention risks inflaming tensions with the British Medical Association (BMA) and its members. Resident doctors, those below the level of consultant, are on picket lines protesting against pay erosion which they want returning to 2008 levels. The BMA says real terms pay is down a fifth since then according to the retail price index (RPI)‌Asked by LBC's Nick Ferrari what could have been done with the £3 billion, Mr Streeting said: "We can do a few hospitals for that. We could have run far more appointments and procedures with that money to cut waiting lists faster.”The walkout from 7am Tuesday is the 15th by resident doctors since 2023 and the joint-longest. It comes after they were given a 3.5% pay rise for 2026/27 but Mr Streeting says the overall package of measures would have led to resident doctors getting an average pay rise of 4.9%. This included reimbursement for exam costs and an additional 1,000 medical training places.The dispute centres on claims by the BMA that the Government made “last minute changes” to the dea...