A five-day strike involving doctors in England will go ahead as planned, the British Medical Association (BMA) has said.
The BMA said its members rejected the government’s offer to call off the strikes, and will down tools between 17 December and 22 December.
Announcing the move, the union said 83.2% of those who took part in a poll rejected the offer, with a turnout of 65.34%.
It comes after NHS England said it was facing the “worst case scenario” after flu cases rose by more than 55% in a week.
The offer included a fast expansion of specialist training posts as well as covering out-of-pocket expenses such as exam fees, but it did not include extra pay.
The government had criticised the BMA for the length of time to respond to the offer.
It also said it had offered to extend the union’s strike mandate which would have enabled the walkout to be rescheduled to January in the event the deal was not accepted by members.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting warned any strike action will bring patients “unnecessary and avoidable” disruption, while Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has called the union “irresponsible”.
It comes as hospitals struggle to cope with an escalation in flu cases.
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