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After qualifying as a doctor, Dr Huang completed two years of foundation training, two of core surgical training, three of speciality training and has three years’ training left.

Some patients were confused by the term “junior”, she says, as she is often responsible for a lot of care.

“For example if someone comes into the emergency room with a catastrophic nose bleed, I’ll be the one to operate,” Dr Huang says.

“Or on a clinic day, I will see some 20 patients and I’m often the doctor who will be asked to help if people have life-threatening problems with their airways.”

A BMA committee considered many alternative terms before deciding “resident” was the most appropriate.

The term, already used in the US, Canada, Philippines, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Spain and Australia, reflects the role of medics “on the ground, keeping hospitals ticking” that is often highly experienced and “anything but junior”, it says.

Industrial action in the NHS is estimated to have cost taxpayers around £1.7 billion during 2023 and 2024.

Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi, co-chairs of the British Medical Association, said it should never have taken “so long” to get to this point.

They described the deal as a “modest” above-inflation award – and still left pay below what it had been in 2008.

And they said they in future years the expectation was that pay would continue going up above inflation – and if that did not happen the government needed to be “prepared for consequences”.

“We thank all doctors who have seen us through to this point by standing on picket lines and fighting for their worth.

“The campaign is not over, but we, and they, can be proud of how far we have come.”

Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, which represents NHS trusts, said: “Health leaders will breathe a massive sigh of relief to know that the dispute 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.”

Junior doctors in Wales recently voted in favour of an improved pay deal, while in Northern Ireland talks are ongoing and no strike action is currently planned.

Junior doctors did not take industrial action in Scotland after they accepted a pay offer from the devolved government last year.

The announcement comes ahead of the title of junior doctor being dropped in favour of the term resident doctors from Wednesday.

Streeting agreed to the change during the talks.

The term junior doctor has long been disliked by the BMA, which believes it did not reflect the experience and standing of junior doctors – some of whom can have eight or more years experience.

There’s also frustration among other frontline staff who are having to make do with much less. Staff such as nurses, midwives, paramedics and physios have received a little more than half the rise junior doctors have won.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has said it will now be consulting its members to see what they want to do – and industrial action is not being ruled out.

“We do not begrudge doctors their pay rise,” RCN leader Prof Nicola Ranger says. “What we ask for is the same fair treatment from government.”

Prof Len Shackleton, an economist at the University of Buckingham and research fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs, believes this could be just the start of a fresh round of pay demands.

“The government is naïve if it thinks this is over – other unions will look at this deal and think they can get more, not just those in the NHS but across the public sector. This could spiral out of control.”

The government and the BMA trade union are expected to confirm junior doctors in England have struck an improved pay deal.

It’s thought the deal represents a 22.3% pay rise over two years.

The BMA’s junior doctors’ committee has agreed to put the offer to its members.

If accepted it would spell an end to long-running strike action which has led to the cancellation of hundreds of thousands of appointments since March 2023.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce the terms of the deal in the Commons later.

They received a rise averaging nearly 9% in the last financial year.

But the British Medical Association, representing the junior doctors, last year walked out of talks in which an extra 3% top-up was discussed.

It has since said it is willing to have the 35% pay rise phased in, after initially calling for it in one go, but government stands firm.

Mr Streeting told the Tony Blair Institute Future of Britain conference: “This is an important reset moment I think in the relationship between junior doctors and their government.”

Labour had been very clear in opposition the headline pay demand was unaffordable – and that “has not changed”.

Junior doctors deserved respect and being honest with them was key to that.

BMA junior doctors committee co-chairs Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi said: “Mr Streeting has said pay restoration will be a journey: we are looking to set off.

​”We thank the Secretary of State for the meeting and have agreed to meet again next week.”