Prime Minister Keir Starmer has urged resident doctors to accept a government offer and avert "reckless" strikes scheduled for next week, calling it "beyond belief" they could proceed during a "super flu" outbreak. The British Medical Association (BMA) is voting on the offer until Monday, with five-day strikes planned from 7am on December 17 if members reject it.
The NHS is facing what Starmer described as its "most precarious moment since the pandemic." Flu patients occupied an average of 2,660 hospital beds daily last week in England - up 55% from the previous week and ten times higher than two years ago. The steepest rise in hospitalizations is among those aged over 75.
Government warning: Patient safety at risk
Health Secretary Wes Streeting told LBC radio he is "genuinely fearful" for the NHS and cannot guarantee patient safety. "[...] I just don't think there is a lever I can pull, I don't think there's an amount of money I can throw, that means I can sit on your programme and guarantee patient safety over the next week," he said.
Streeting described the situation as at "one minute to midnight" and warned strikes could be the "Jenga piece that collapses the tower". He accused the BMA of knowing "that this week will be most painful".
Writing in The Guardian, Starmer stated: "They are reckless. They place the NHS and patients who need it in grave danger." He added: "Resident doctors' colleagues will be cancelling operations, cancelling their Christmas leave and preparing for this coming storm. The idea that strikes could still take place in this context is frankly beyond belief."
BMA pushes back on safety claims
The BMA countered that Streeting "has far more power to prevent NHS strikes than he gives himself credit for" and warned his "irresponsible" public statements won't prevent the walkout.
Dr. Tom Dolphin, BMA chair, told The Independent that patients won't be at risk during strikes. "On strike days, the hospitals arrange for senior doctors to cover for the absent resident doctors. [...] So the same model that has worked for all the previous strikes to keep patients safe will apply."
Dr. Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA resident doctors' committee, told the Morning Star: "Doctors want to be on wards treating flu patients next week - not standing on picket lines. Wes Streeting can make that happen by coming back with a credible offer."
Offer falls short, union says
The government's offer proposes 4,000 more specialty training places and reimbursement of Royal College membership and exam fees. But speaking to The Independent, Dr. Shivam Sharma, BMA deputy chair, called it a "mixed bag" and said it's "difficult to see members accepting."
Fletcher stated: "His current offer does not create any more capacity for us to treat patients, or do anything to help clear waiting lists; let's be clear about that."
Public opinion divided
A YouGov poll conducted Friday showed 58% of respondents oppose the strikes while 33% support them.
NHS Providers chief executive Daniel Elkeles warned of a "tidal wave of flu" requiring "all-hands on deck to look after a huge number of patients".
Dr. Tony O'Sullivan, co-chair of Keep Our NHS Public, told the Morning Star it is "the height of irresponsible behaviour from the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, to go to war with doctors and the BMA amid the flu epidemic". He argued the government is "scapegoating" doctors for a crisis it promised to solve.
Age UK director Caroline Abrahams called the flu surge "alarming" and said: "This winter looks especially worrying for many older people since along with the upsurge in flu there is the possibility of another strike by resident doctors next week [...]"
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
