Acas offers to help break deadlock in resident doctors’ strike

Conciliation service ‘in contact with all the parties involved’ as medics in England strike for 14th time

The conciliation service Acas has offered to help try to break the deadlock in the resident doctors’ strike in England.

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service has made clear that it is willing to become involved in an effort to find a resolution to the long-running dispute, as medics remain on strike for the 14th time over pay and jobs.

Acas’s intervention comes after NHS bosses and the Patients Association in recent days urged the government and the British Medical Association to agree to independent mediation to break the deadlock.

“Acas is in contact with all the parties involved in the resident doctors’ dispute,” said Kevin Rowan, the body’s director of dispute resolution.

However, Acas quickly clarified its position after Rowan’s statement led to speculation that it was already involved in trying to broker a deal.

He amended his comments to make clear that the widely respected independent body had simply offered its services to the government and the doctors’ union.

“We have a team of experts who are well-prepared and ready to help with the resident doctors’ dispute,” he said.

Rowan stressed that “Acas has decades of experience in resolving disputes and our collective conciliation service is impartial, free and independent.

“It is also voluntary, which means we can only hold formal conciliation talks if all the parties in dispute agree to use Acas.”

Rachel Power, the chief executive of the Patients Association, urged both sides to accept Acas’s offer and start talking under its auspices as soon as possible.

“We welcome the news that Acas is in contact with both the BMA and the government to help resolve this dispute,” she said.

“This dispute has dragged on too long, with repeated strikes proving that direct negotiations alone cannot resolve it. Something has to move.

She added: “Acas has confirmed they are ready and willing to help, but they can only act when both parties agree to take part. We call on the BMA and government to make that agreement now.”

It remains uncertain if Acas will become involved. The Department of Health and Social Care said it had not received any proposal from Acas to act as an arbitrator, contradicting Rowan’s initial statement.

“There has been no offer from Acas regarding the BMA’s dispute with government. All our focus is on mitigating the impact of strike action on patients and staff,” a spokesperson said.

The BMA also appears unlikely to take up Acas’s offer. Dr Jack Fletcher, the chair of its resident doctors committee, tweeted that: “[Neither] I, nor any of the resident doctor negotiating team, have spoken to Acas.

“We are aware of mediation services like Acas but at this stage we do not believe mediation is a route we need to consider.”

The resident doctors’ legal mandate to strike expires on 6 January. The BMA has already opened a new ballot of its 55,000 resident doctor members which, if enough vote in favour, would allow them to undertake a fresh series of strikes for six months, likely starting in February or March.

Thousands of resident – formerly junior – doctors began their latest strike at 7am on Wednesday and will continue until 7am on Monday next week.

Speaking at prime minister’s questions in the House of Commons, Keir Starmer denounced the strike as “dangerous and utterly irresponsible” given the NHS was already battling a wave of flu that had hospitalised more people for the time of year than ever before.

Fletcher said that resident doctors felt they had to withdraw their labour because ministers had not done enough to meet their demands on pay and training places.