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Hello, I'm Alicia McCarthy.

Thanks for downloading the Yesterday in Parliament podcast.

On Thursday the 10th of July, the Health Secretary described the latest pay demand from

England's resident doctors as unnecessary, unreasonable and unaffordable.

Where Streeting was making a statement to the Commons

after the British Medical Association announced five days of strikes later this month.

Is work making you a little stressed?

Blood pressure nudging upwards.

Perhaps you've been to see a doctor,

but somehow come away with a feeling that you just haven't quite been listened to.

I offered to meet with the BMA's full resident doctors committee and to work with them

to improve their members' working lives.

I have offered repeatedly to meet the entire committee since the start of this year, but they still have not taken up

my offer. The Health Secretary was streeting there. He said what used to be called junior

doctors had received a near 29% increase in recent years, and while he was happy to have

talks about conditions, he couldn't and wouldn't reopen this year's pay negotiations.

And he urged them to call off planned strikes scheduled to begin on the 25th of July.

Five days of strike action means patients and their families, receiving the phone call they are currently dreading,

of being told that the operation or appointment

they've been waiting for, often for far too long, is being cancelled and delayed. I know how

I would feel if this happened to a member of my family currently waiting, and I ask them to

...