Health secretary angered by five-day strike by ‘self-indulgent’ doctors as NHS faces Christmas flu crisis

The Health Secretary has slammed doctors as “selfish” and “dangerous” after voting to go ahead with a five-day strike in the run-up to Christmas.

Resident doctor members of the British Medical Association (BMA) flatly rejected a last-minute offer to stop a walkout from Wes Streeting, with doctors set to join picket lines from 7am on Wednesday.

The move warned of a “very difficult Christmas” for the NHS amid fears the strike could put patients at risk due to a surge in cases of “superflu” sweeping the nation. Flu cases in England’s hospitals are at record levels for this time of year.

The Prime Minister said he was “horrified” by the news as he joined Mr Streeting in urging doctors to ignore their unions and go to work this week, warning they would lose public sympathy over the dispute.

Mr Streeting warned that dates just before the Christmas bank holiday represented a “different magnitude of risk” to previous industrial action.

He accused the BMA of choosing a time to “damage the NHS at a time of maximum danger” and hit out at its refusal to postpone until January.

“There is no need for these strikes to go ahead this week, and it reveals the BMA’s shocking disregard for patient safety and other NHS staff,” he said. “These strikes are selfish, irresponsible and dangerous.”

He continued: “I am appealing to ordinary resident doctors to go to work this week. There is a different magnitude of risk in a strike at this time. Abandoning your patients in their hour of greatest need goes against everything a career in medicine is about.”

Mr Streeting offered the union a new deal that included greater access to specialist training posts and money for expenses such as exam fees, but crucially, no extra pay.

But the proposal was rejected, with the BMA denouncing it as “too little, too late”. A total of 83 percent of doctors voted in favor of continuing the strike, while the 17 percent who voted against made it 65 percent.

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 completely avoidable – the Health Secretary must now work with us in the short time we have left to come up with a credible proposal to end this jobs crisis and stop real terms pay cuts in 2026.”

Sir Keir condemned the strike as “irresponsible”.

He told MPs on the Commons Liaison Committee that he was “very disappointed. Ten out of ten. It’s irresponsible at any time, especially at this time.

He added: “It comes on the back of quite a few pay rises over the last year or so. There is an agreement that we have put on the table that can be taken forward, and so I think this is irresponsible action by the BMA and not the first time.

“I would appeal to doctors themselves to push back against the BMA. They are losing the public’s sympathy. They are losing the support of their colleagues.”

The BMA said it “remains committed to ensuring patient safety” during the walkout. But hospital leaders said the strikes came as the NHS “needs all hands on deck”.

Daniel Alkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “This vote is a bitter pill to swallow which will inevitably harm patients and damage the NHS.

“We had hoped that the government’s latest updated proposal would be sufficient for 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 work to minimize the impact of the strike, but sadly 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 “deeply disappointing”.

Mr Streeting told broadcasters it was “now clear” that “what these strikes are really about is an unrealistic demand by the BMA for another 26 per cent on top of the 28.9 per cent pay rise they already have”.

He said he proposed postponing the walkout until January “because of the huge 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 53 percent of Britons opposed and 38 percent in favor.

The data released by the Health Service last week showed that flu patients increased by more than 55 percent in one week. Some hospitals across the country have urged staff, patients and visitors to wear face masks to reduce the spread of flu, while others have moved out of critical incident status due to the high number of A&E attendances.

Shadow Health Secretary Stuart Andrews said: “We Conservatives have repeatedly warned Labor that they would be setting a dangerous precedent by increasing inflation-driven pay last year.

“And now we see the results of their capitulation, more disruption, more demands and no end in sight.”