Local (resident) doctors in England voted to continue the five-day strike before Christmas; the action is scheduled to last from 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday, December 17, for five days.[1] A vote of BMA members showed an overwhelming majority rejected the government's offer of training places; in an online survey, 83% of participants (29,215 physicians) voted to reject the offer.[1] Last week, Health Secretary Wes Streeting submitted a proposal to the BMA which included the creation of 4,000 specialist training places and funding for residency posts, PhD fees and medical exams, but did not include a pay rise.[2][1] The BMA said that some of these 4,000 posts would be re-filled from pre-existing locally employed positions and that only 1,000 posts would start in 2026.[1] NHS chiefs have warned that the strike comes as hospitals face increased pressure due to a rise in flu cases, which could put patient care at risk.[1] In doing so, Streeting repeatedly stated that due to financial pressures, the government could not raise wages further, and called on doctors to accept his offer to avoid further disruption to services.[2][5]