Responding to the British Medical Association’s (BMA) announcement that resident doctors have accepted the latest pay deal Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, said:

“Health leaders will breathe a massive sigh of relief to know that the ongoing pay dispute between resident doctors and government has come to a successful resolution. The last thing our members wanted was the threat of more strikes over what is expected to be a very difficult winter.

“Industrial action has had a huge impact on the NHS over the last two years, with more than 1.5 million appointments and operations being cancelled at an estimated cost to the health service of around £3 billion.

“While there is still a long way to go to address all the issues raised by resident doctors, including quality of work and education and their rotational system, we hope that discussions can move forward now pay has been agreed.

“We look forward to working with the BMA, colleges, the General Medical Council (GMC) and NHS England to find resolutions to these and taking forward the non-pay parts of the agreement, including for example the changes to exception reporting.”