Wes Streeting says support for striking doctors has 'collapsed' ahead of crisis talks

Health Secretary Wes Streeting will hold crisis talks to try and avoid doctors' strikes causing NHS chaos.

Resident doctors - formerly referred to as junior doctors - are poised to walk out at 7am on July 25 for five consecutive days. The Health Secretary will this week meet representatives from the British Medical Association (BMA), which says it will only call of the action if it receives an offer it can put to members.

At the moment a rise averaging 5.4% is on the table - made up of a 4% uplift and a "consolidated" £750. Mr Streeting is understood to be unwilling to budge on salaries.

He has called the strikes "completely unreasonable" and urged the union to "abandon their rush to strike".

The union has said that resident doctors need a pay uplift of 29.2% to reverse "pay erosion" since 2008/09. It comes after BMA members voted to accept a deal worth 22.3% on average over two years last September. Mr Streeting said support for the union had "collapsed" following last year's agreement.

READ MORE: Labour minister leaves door open to wealth tax for super-rich with 'fairness' vow

He said: "There is no question but that these are highly trained, highly skilled medics who work hard for their money, but to threaten strikes in these circumstances is unreasonable and unnecessary, so it is no wonder that the BMA has lost the public’s support."

The average annual earnings of a first year resident doctor last year were £43,275. In their second year out of medical school they averaged £52,300 last year.

And specialty registrars earned on average almost £75,000. A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social care said: "The BMA have accepted the Health Secretary's offer to meet and we expect that to happen this week."

BMA resident doctors committee co-chairs, Dr Ross Nieuwoudt and Dr Melissa Ryan, said: "We have been clear throughout the dispute that we are happy to continue discussions to find a solution that both our members will find acceptable and that can prevent any strike action having to take place.

"We are glad that the Secretary of State has taken us up on our offer and we look forward to constructive discussions, in the hope that we can make progress that would be sufficient to support suspending the planned strike."

Some 90% of voting resident doctors backed the strike action, with the BMA reporting a turnout of 55%.

READ MORE: Join our Mirror politics WhatsApp group to get the latest updates from Westminster