A five-day strike involving tens of thousands of doctors in England will go ahead as planned, the British Medical Association (BMA) has said. The union said its resident doctor members had rejected the government’s offer to call off the strikes, and will stop work between 17 and 22 December. Announcing the move, the BMA said 83.2% of those who took part in a poll rejected the offer, with a turnout of 65.34%. The news comes after NHS England said it was facing the «worst case scenario» following a rise in flu cases of more than 55% in a week. Hospitals in England are said to be facing record levels of the disease for the time of year.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting accused the union of «shocking disregard for patient safety» for choosing to stage a walkout «to inflict damage on the NHS at the moment of maximum danger.» He said the strikes are «self-indulgent, irresponsible, and dangerous» – and said doctors would be «abandoning» patients. Mr. Streeting also revealed the BMA had rejected the chance to hold any strike in January to help hospitals cope with the surge in flu cases. The BMA said the strike is «still entirely avoidable» and said it was «willing to work to find a solution.»
BMA resident doctors committee chair Dr. Jack Fletcher added: «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.» The union said it remained «committed to ensuring patient safety» and it would be in «close contact» with NHS England during the strike action to «address safety concerns if they arise.» The offer included a fast expansion of specialist training posts as well as covering out-of-pocket expenses such as exam fees, but it did not include extra pay. The government also offered to extend the union’s strike mandate, which would have enabled any walkout to be rescheduled to January.
«‘Abandoning patients in the hour of greatest need'» Mr. Streeting said the strike «goes against everything» a medical career is about. He said: «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% pay rise.» «Resident doctors have already had a 28.9% pay rise – there is no justification for striking just because this fantasy demand has not been met.» «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.»
BMA rejects offer despite Streeting’s attack:
Wes Streeting took a risky line of attack. He put an offer of more jobs to the BMA. And while that offer was being considered he went on the offensive. He warned the NHS would collapse if the resident doctors carried on with their strikes during a record flu season. He repeated that line throughout the weekend when the pools were open and voting had begun. The BMA responded by accusing Wes Streeting of «scaremongering.» Senior NHS consultants gave interviews saying the flu season was bad, but to be expected, and with the same contingency planning that happens every summer (off flu season), the NHS would cope. The BMA will argue that Mr. Streeting can make the resident doctors his scapegoat for an NHS that will struggle again this winter. They reject that idea completely. And now they have rejected his offer.
Hospital leaders said the strike would come as the NHS «needs all hands on deck» – and called the action «bitterly disappointing.» Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, said: «This vote is a bitter pill which will inevitably result in harm to patients and damage to the NHS.» «We had hoped that the government’s recent updated offer would be enough to head off another walkout at a time when so many people are suffering with flu, and the NHS needs all hands on deck.» 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.» Public support for the strikes is low, according to a YouGov poll released last week. The results showed 58% of those asked either somewhat or strongly opposed the industrial action, while 33% somewhat or strongly supported it.
SOURCE