BMA junior doctors committee co-chairs have met with the health secretary for talks about ending the junior doctors’ strike.

They discussed how to make progress in bringing the nearly two-year-old pay dispute to an end.

During the recent strike action in Cumbria three planned procedures and 150 outpatient appointments were postponed.

Consultants provided care to manage any ‘critical gaps’ in urgent and emergency services but Monday, July 1 saw a higher attendance at A&E than usual which forced patients to wait longer.

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The British Medical Association (BMA) has previously called for a 35 per cent pay rise for junior doctors which they say would make up for ‘15 years of below-inflation wage rises’ which has caused a ‘recruitment and retention crisis’ in the NHS.

The new health secretary, Wes Streeting, has said he is ‘optimistic’ about ending the junior doctors’ strike and said that the talks represented an “important reset moment” in the ongoing dispute between doctors and the government.