The health secretary has blasted doctors as “self-indulgent” and “dangerous” after they voted to go ahead with a five-day strike before Christmas.
Resident doctors members of the British Medical Association (BMA) have flatly rejected a last-minute bid by Wes Streeting to stop the walkout, with doctors set to join picket lines from 7am on Wednesday.
The move sparked warnings of a “very difficult Christmas” for the NHS amid fears the strike will put patients at risk due to a surge in “superflu” cases sweeping the nation. Hospital flu cases in England are at a record high for this time of year.
The Prime Minister said he was “gutted” by the news as he joined Mr Streeting in calling on doctors to ignore their union and go to work anyway this week, warning they were losing public sympathy over the dispute.
Wes Streeting: “We’re calling on regular residents to go to work this week” (AFP/Getty)
Mr Streeting warned that the data, just ahead of the Christmas bank holiday, represented a “risk differential” from previous industrial action.
He accused the BMA of timing it to “cause damage to the NHS at the moment of maximum danger” and rejected their refusal to delay until January.
“There is no need for these strikes to continue this week and it reveals the BMA’s shocking disregard for the safety of patients and other NHS staff,” he said. “These strikes are self-indulgent, irresponsible and dangerous.”
The number of people hospitalized with flu in England is at a record high for this time of year (PA)
He continued: “We are calling on regular residents to go to work this week. There is a different scale of risk in a strike at the moment. Abandoning your patients in their time of greatest need goes against everything a career in medicine should be about.”
Mr Streeting offered the union a new deal which included greater access to specialist training posts and money for expenses such as exam fees but, crucially, no extra pay.
But the bid was rejected, with the BMA denouncing it as “too little, too late”. A total of 83% of doctors voted to continue the strike, compared to 17% who voted against, on a turnout of 65%.
Dr Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee, said: “Tens of thousands of frontline doctors have come together to say no to what is clearly too little, too late.
“This week’s strike is still entirely avoidable – the health secretary should work with us now in the short time we have left to come up with a credible offer to end this jobs crisis and avoid the real-terms pay cuts it is forcing in 2026.”
Keir Starmer said he was disappointed the strike was set to go ahead (House of Commons/UK Parliament)
Sir Keir condemned the strikes as “irresponsible”.
He told MPs on the Commons liaison committee that he was “very singled out. Ten out of ten. It is irresponsible at any time, especially at this time.
He added: “It follows a very substantial pay rise over the last year or so. There is a deal that we put on the table that could have been taken forward and so I think it is irresponsible action on the part of the BMA and not for the first time.
“I would call on doctors themselves to reject the BMA. They are losing the public’s sympathy. They are losing the support of their colleagues.”
Resident doctors lose public sympathy over their proposed industrial action (IP).
The BMA said it “remains committed to ensuring patient safety” during the recall. But hospital leaders said the strikes were taking place because the NHS “needs all hands on deck”.
Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “This vote is a bitter pill that will inevitably lead to harm to patients and damage to the NHS.
“We had hoped that the government’s recent updated offer would be enough to avoid another breakout at a time when so many people are suffering from flu and the NHS needs all hands on deck.
“Leaders and trusted staff will now work to minimize the impact of the strike, but unfortunately this will mean further disruption and delays and a very difficult Christmas for the health service.”
Rory Deighton, director of acute and community care at the NHS Confederation, described the vote as “bitterly disappointing”.
Mr Streeting told broadcasters it was “now clear” that “what these strikes are really about is the BMA’s totally unrealistic demand for another 26 per cent on top of the 28.9 per cent pay rise they’ve already had”.
He said he had offered to delay the withdrawals until January “because of the enormous risk to patients and the NHS at the worst possible time”.
Last week, a YouGov poll found that opposition to strikes had reached a record high, with 53% of Britons against and 38% in favour.
Figures released by the health service last week showed flu cases had risen by more than 55% in a week. Some hospitals across the country have required staff, patients and visitors to wear face masks to reduce the spread of flu, while others have moved in and out of critical incident status due to the high numbers of people attending A&E.
Shadow health secretary Stuart Andrew said: “We Conservatives have repeatedly warned Labor that by giving pay rises to reduce inflation last year, they would set a dangerous precedent.
“And now we see the consequences of their capitulation, with more disruption, more demands, and no end in sight.”