00:00Well, I'm really pleased that the BMA have responded to my offer to sit down and talk to try and avert these strikes.
00:07I'm very clear we can't go further on pay. We've already given them a 28.9% pay increase and they've had the largest pay award the entire public sector this year.
00:17So offering more would be unaffordable but also unfair to other NHS staff and other public sector workers.
00:23But there's plenty of stuff we can do and want to work on together that would improve the lives of resident doctors, improve the service for patients and give everyone a win-win out of this situation.
00:36So that's what I'm looking to achieve.
00:38Their whole dispute has been about pay. That's why the government has moved and given them a 28.9% pay increase.
00:47They can't just dismiss that or forget that. That's come at considerable cost to the taxpayer.
00:54And also it's the highest pay award in the entire public sector. So we've got to be fair to other staff in the NHS.
01:00If strikes go ahead, everyone loses. Doctors lose, the NHS loses, patients lose and the public lose.
01:08And that's not a situation I think the majority of resident doctors want to find themselves in, which is why they didn't support the strike action in the first place.
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