Resident doctors in England will proceed with a five-day strike starting Wednesday morning, rejecting the government's latest offer in a bitter dispute that erupts as hospitals battle record flu levels. The walkout runs from 7am on December 17 until 7am on December 22, placing the National Health Service under what Health Secretary Wes Streeting called the "moment of maximum danger."
The British Medical Association (BMA) members voted overwhelmingly to continue industrial action, with 83 percent rejecting the government's proposal and just 17 percent accepting it. Turnout stood at 65 percent. The strike involves resident doctors who make up nearly half of England's medical workforce, marking the 14th walkout since the dispute began in March 2023.
Government's Fury Over Timing
Streeting condemned the strike decision in scathing terms. «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,» he said. «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.»
The Health Secretary told broadcasters: «I think it's now clear that what these strikes are really about is the BMA's totally unrealistic demand for another 26 percent on top of the 28.9 percent pay rise they've already had.» He offered to postpone the strikes to January due to the enormous risk to patients, saying the government would still facilitate that rescheduling even now.
Streeting made a direct appeal to individual doctors. «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,» he said. «Abandoning your patients in their hour of greatest need goes against everything a career in medicine is meant to be about.»
BMA Defends Strike Decision
Dr Jack Fletcher, chairman of the BMA's resident doctors committee, hit back at the criticism. «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 said. «Tens of thousands of frontline doctors have come together to say 'no' to what is clearly too little, too late.»
Fletcher accused the government of merely repackaging existing jobs. «There are no new jobs in this offer – he has simply cannibalised those jobs which already existed for the sake of 'new' jobs on paper,» he stated. «Neither was there anything on what Mr Streeting has said is a journey to restoring our pay – that has clearly hit the buffers.»
The BMA chair insisted the strike remained avoidable: «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.»
Perfect Storm for NHS
The timing compounds existing pressures on hospitals. Flu cases in England surged more than 55 percent in one week, with over 2,600 patients admitted daily in early December – the highest level on record for this time of year. Last year at the same point, admissions stood at 1,861.
The government's rejected offer included expanding specialist training posts and covering out-of-pocket expenses like exam fees, but contained no additional pay increases. The BMA seeks a further 26 percent pay rise on top of the 28.9 percent increase resident doctors have already received.
Streeting declared his department's focus would now be «getting the health service through the double whammy of flu and strikes.» The government has vaccinated 17 million people, 170,000 more than last year, and will work intensively with frontline leaders to prepare for the disruption.
NHS leaders expressed deep concern about the strike's impact. Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, called the vote «a bitter pill which will inevitably result in harm to patients and damage to the NHS.» Rory Deighton of 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.»
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
