HEALTH chiefs have forged a new deal to ward off further strike action by junior doctors by creating a new contract for medics, it has been announced today.

But the new contract drawn up by the Department of Health and the British Medical Association (BMA) with a new pay structure for working weekends and evenings must be put to the vote by junior doctors themselves.

But in the meantime the BMA has promised there will be no further industrial action until after results of the ballot are announced later this summer.

Today’s landmark announcement looks to bring an end to a bitter dispute between medics and the Government which has led to junior doctors launching a wave of strikes this year- including withdrawing emergency care in the last strike for the first time in the history of the NHS.

Some elements of the new contract, if approved in the BMA's ballot of junior doctors, will be implemented in August and all junior doctors will move on to the new terms between October and August 2017.

Under the deal, which follows eight days of intense negotiations, Saturdays and Sundays will attract premium pay if doctors - the vast majority of whom are expected to - work seven or more weekends in a year.

Doctors will receive a percentage of their annual salary for working these weekends - ranging from 3% for working one weekend in seven to up to 10% if they work one weekend in two.

Any night shift - on any day - which starts at or after 8pm and lasts more than eight hours, and which finishes at or by 10am the following day, will also result in an enhanced pay rate of 37% for all the hours worked.

The deal also sets out systems of payment for doctors who are on call.

This allowance is applied as 8% of basic pay over and above any weekend allowance that has been paid.

Across the board, there will be an average basic pay increase of between 10% and 11%, down from the 13% put forward originally by the Government.

There are also new agreements aimed at reducing discrimination to anyone who takes leave to care for others, such as new mothers or those on parental leave.

This includes accelerated training support to enable people to catch up, such as mentoring and study leave funding.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: ''We welcome this significant agreement which delivers important changes to the junior doctors' contract necessary to deliver a safer seven day NHS.

''The talks have been constructive and positive and highlighted many areas outside the contract where further work is necessary to value the vital role of junior doctors and improve the training and support they are given.

''This deal represents a definitive step forward for patients, for doctors and for the NHS as a whole.''

He also told BBC News: ''Well I think it's a very positive day for NHS patients and actually for doctors as well. From the Government's point of view we've got all the red lines that we needed to improve weekend care.

''The extra cost of employing another doctor at the weekends will fall by about a third under this agreement, which will make it much easier for hospitals to improve care at weekends.''

He added: ''But I think we also have to reflect that this has been a very bitter dispute. There are lessons to be learned on all sides.

Dr Johann Malawana, the BMA's junior doctor committee chairman, said: ''Following intense but constructive talks, we are pleased to have reached agreement.

''Junior doctors have always wanted to agree a safe and fair contract, one that recognises and values the contribution junior doctors make to the NHS, addresses the recruitment and retention crisis in parts of the NHS and provides the basis for delivering a world-class health service.

''I believe that what has been agreed today delivers on these principles, is a good deal for junior doctors and will ensure that they can continue to deliver high-quality care for patients.

''This represents the best and final way of resolving the dispute and this is what I will be saying to junior doctors in the weeks leading up to the referendum on the new contract.''

The news was welcomed by Winchester MP Steve Brine, the Health Secretary's parliamentary private secretary.

He said: "This is a hugely significant agreement which I welcome and it's one that delivers important changes to the junior doctors' contract necessary to deliver a safer seven day NHS.

"The talks have been constructive in the past week and positive and highlighted many areas outside the contract where further work is necessary to value the vital role of junior doctors and improve the training and support they are given. This deal represents a definitive step forward for patients, for doctors, and for the NHS as a whole."

Sir Brendan Barber, chairman of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) which hosted the talks said an agreement had been reached and added: “The negotiators from both sides have worked with great intensity and great spirit to achieve this breakthrough. This long-running dispute has been at an extraordinarily difficult time for the NHS. All the parties are committed to tackling other wider problems affecting the NHS.”

The talks were seen as a last-ditch attempt to break the deadlock between junior doctors and the Government.

The agreement to resume talks follows a wave of industrial action launched by junior doctors in recent months, which saw thousands of operations cancelled.

Junior doctors stopped providing emergency care for the first time in NHS history during their most recent walkout. More than 125,000 appointments and operations were postponed, on top of almost 25,000 procedures cancelled during previous action.

Discussions surrounding the new contract first started in 2012 but broke down in 2014.