The health secretary blasted doctors as “self-indulgent” and “dangerous” after they voted to go ahead with a five-day strike before Christmas.
Resident doctor members of the British Medical Association (BMA) have flatly rejected a last minute offer from Wes Streeting to stop the walkout, with doctors set to join picket lines on Wednesday from 7am.
The move has prompted 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. Cases of influenza in hospitals in England are at a record level 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 this week anyway, warning that they were losing public sympathy over the dispute.
Wes Streeting: “I’m calling on ordinary resident doctors to go to work this week” (AFP/Getty)
Mr Streeting warned that the dates, just before the Christmas bank holiday, represented “a different magnitude of risk” to previous industrial action.
He accused the BMA of timing it to “damage the NHS at the moment of maximum danger” and hit out at their refusal to postpone until January.
“There is no need for these strikes to take place this week, and it reveals the BMA’s shocking disregard for patient safety and other NHS staff,” he said. “These strikes are self-indulgent, irresponsible and dangerous.”
The number of people in hospital with flu in England is at a record level for this time of year (PA)
He continued: “I am calling on ordinary resident doctors to go to work this week. There is a different magnitude of risk in a strike at this moment. Abandoning your patients in their hour of greatest need goes against everything a career in medicine is meant to be about.”
Mr Streeting had offered the union a new deal which included greater access to specialist training places and money for costs such as exam fees, but, crucially, no extra pay.
But the offer was rejected, with the BMA denouncing it as “too little, too late”. A total of 83 percent of doctors voted to continue with the strike, compared to 17 percent who voted against, on a 65 percent turnout.
Dr Jack Fletcher, chairman of the BMA’s resident doctors committee, said: “Tens of thousands of leading doctors have come together to say ‘no’ to what is clearly too little, too late.
“This week’s strike is still completely avoidable – the health secretary must now work with us in the short time left to come up with a credible offer to end this jobs crisis and avoid the real pay cuts he is pushing for in 2026.”
Keir Starmer said he was disappointed that the strike would continue (House of Commons/Parliament of the United Kingdom)
Sir Keir condemned the strikes as “irresponsible”.
He told MPs on the Commons liaison committee that he was “very gutted. Ten out of ten. It’s irresponsible at any time, particularly at the moment.
He added: “This comes from a very substantial increase in wages over the last year or so. There is an agreement that we put on the table that could have been taken forward, so I think it is an irresponsible action by the BMA and not for the first time.
“I would like to appeal to the doctors themselves to push back against the BMA. They are losing the sympathy of the public. They are losing the support of their colleagues.”
Resident doctors are losing public sympathy over their proposed industrial action (PA)
The BMA said it “remains committed to ensuring patient safety” during the walkout. But hospital leaders said the strikes come as the NHS “needs all hands on deck”.
Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “This vote is a bitter pill that will inevitably result in harm to patients and harm to the NHS.
“We were hoping that the government’s recent updated offer would be enough to stop another walkout at a time when so many people are suffering from flu, and the NHS needs all hands on deck.
“Trust leaders and staff will now be working to minimize the impact of the strike, but unfortunately it 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 that “it is 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 already had”.
He said he offered to postpone the walkouts until January “because of the enormous risk to patients and the NHS at the worst possible time”.
Last week, a poll by YouGov found opposition to strikes at a record high, with Britons 53 per cent against and 38 per cent in favour.
Figures released by the health service last week show that flu cases have jumped by more than 55 percent in a week. Some hospitals across the country have asked staff, patients and visitors to wear face masks to slow the spread of flu, while others have moved in and out of critical incident status due to the high number of people attending A&E.
Shadow Health Secretary Stuart Andrew said: “We Conservatives have repeatedly warned Labor that by giving inflation-beating pay rises 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.”