Junior doctors are pressing ahead with a five day strike this week, despite stark warnings that patient safety will be put at risk as the NHS struggles through one of the worst flu outbreaks in its history.
The walkout will begin at 7am on Wednesday and continue until December 22, coinciding with a sharp rise in flu admissions that has left hospitals under extreme pressure.
Nearly 3,000 beds are currently occupied by flu patients, the highest level ever recorded for this point in winter, with health chiefs bracing for that figure to triple.
The decision follows the British Medical Association’s rejection of an improved offer from Health Secretary Wes Streeting. An online ballot of so called resident doctors found 83.2 per cent voted against the deal, with turnout at 65.34 per cent.
As a result, thousands of junior doctors could abandon wards and clinics in the days before Christmas, making it harder for patients to be treated and discharged. Elderly patients are expected to be particularly affected, with fears many will be left stranded in hospital over the festive period.
Mr Streeting accused the BMA of recklessness, urging doctors to reconsider the timing of the strike and warning that lives could be lost.
He said:
“The BMA has chosen Christmas strikes to inflict damage on the NHS at the moment of maximum danger, refusing to postpone them to January to help patients and other NHS staff cope over Christmas. There is no need for these strikes to go ahead this week, and it reveals the BMA’s shocking disregard for patient safety and for other NHS staff. These strikes are self-indulgent, irresponsible and dangerous.”
He said the Government’s offer would have eased competition for training jobs and increased doctors’ pay, but claimed it had been rejected because it failed to meet what he described as an unrealistic demand for a further 26 per cent pay rise.
Mr Streeting added:
“The Government’s offer would have halved competition for jobs and put more money in resident doctors’ pockets, but the BMA has again rejected it because it doesn’t meet their ask of a further 26 per cent pay rise. Resident doctors have already had a 28.9 per cent pay rise – there is no justification for striking just because this fantasy demand has not been met.”
He appealed directly to junior doctors to turn up for work, saying:
“I am appealing to ordinary resident doctors to go to work this week. There is a different magnitude of risk in striking at this moment. Abandoning your patients in their hour of greatest need goes against everything a career in medicine is meant to be about.”
The strike is the 14th round of industrial action by junior doctors, who are seeking a 26 per cent pay increase on top of rises totalling 28.9 per cent over the past three years. Ministers have repeatedly ruled out further pay negotiations.
The Government had offered to extend the union’s strike mandate and delay action by a month, allowing time to consult members while reducing risks to patients during the flu surge. The proposal included emergency legislation to prioritise UK medical graduates for specialist training posts and the creation of 4,000 additional training places, aimed at easing long standing career bottlenecks.
Despite those concessions, the BMA pressed ahead, a move critics say exposes Labour’s weakness in the face of militant unions.
Public support for the strikes appears to be fading. A YouGov poll last week found that 58 per cent of respondents opposed further walkouts by junior doctors.
The Conservatives said the NHS was being held hostage as a result of Labour’s earlier concessions to unions. Shadow health secretary Stuart Andrew said:
“The BMA rejecting Labour’s offer just shows how weak this Government is in the face of militant unions.”
He added:
“We Conservatives repeatedly warned Labour that by giving inflation busting 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.”
Health leaders also voiced alarm at the timing of the strike. Rory Deighton, acute and community care director at the NHS Confederation, said:
“It is bitterly disappointing that the BMA has rejected this offer and chosen to continue with hugely disruptive strikes. These strikes come at the worst possible time, with rapidly rising flu levels putting huge strain on hospitals.”
The BMA defended its decision, blaming ministers for failing to address what it says is a deepening jobs and pay crisis. Dr Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA resident doctors committee, said:
“Our members have considered the Government’s offer, and their resounding response should leave the Health Secretary in no doubt about how badly he has just fumbled his opportunity to end industrial action.”
He claimed the proposals offered no genuine expansion in jobs and failed to set out a path to restoring pay, adding:
“This week’s strike is still entirely avoidable – the Health Secretary should now work with us in the short time we have left to come up with a credible offer to end this jobs crisis and avert the real terms pay cuts he is pushing in 2026.”
Despite assurances from the BMA that patient safety will be maintained, critics argue the walkout risks pushing an already stretched health service over the edge, leaving Labour to face mounting accusations that it has lost control just as winter pressures peak.
