Streeting ‘genuinely fearful’ for the NHS as strike looms and flu cases surge

Wes Streeting has said he is “genuinely fearful” for the NHS if next week’s strike by resident doctors goes ahead amid surging flu cases, agreeing the collapse of the health service is now “effectively” at “one minute to midnight”.

The Health Secretary claimed flu is causing “probably the worst pressure the NHS has faced since Covid”.

He also criticised the British Medical Association (BMA) for choosing to strike in December as “they know that this week will be most painful for the NHS”.

Members of the union are currently voting on a new offer from the Government which could put a stop to the walkout.

However, if medics vote against the deal, strikes will take place for five consecutive days from 7am on December 17.

Speaking to LBC radio on Friday, Mr Streeting said: “The thing I’m genuinely fearful of is that, even if I throw more money at this situation now, at this time to get through the next week on strikes, there’s only a finite number of doctors and staff.

“There’s only a finite number of care home beds and community based care. So if you’ve got strikes and you’ve got flu and you’ve got all of these trolleys on corridors, and you’ve got demand going up rather than down, 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.

“That’s a pretty terrifying position, not just for me to be in, but for the doctors and NHS staff who are confronting that challenge to be in, because they are the ones that are going to be bearing it on the on the front line.”

Asked if the collapse of the NHS is at “one minute to midnight”, Mr Streeting replied: “Effectively, yeah.”

Figures published on Thursday showed flu cases at a record level for the time of year after jumping 55% in a week to an average 2,660 patients in hospital each day last week.

Mr Streeting said a “particularly aggressive strain” of flu is creating “probably the worst pressure the NHS has faced since Covid”.

He added: “If we didn’t have strikes looming over us, I would be extremely worried about that situation.

“This is always a hard and challenged time for the NHS in the run up to Christmas and the first week of the new year, we could just about cope with that.

“The idea that we will have to contend with that plus strikes is dangerous, actually, and I am extremely worried about the pressure on staff, but more seriously, the risk to patients if we end up with that double whammy of both flu and strikes.”

Writing in The Times, Mr Streeting described Christmas strikes as the “Jenga piece that collapses the tower” of the NHS.

He told LBC he offered to extend the BMA’s strike mandate to February so the union could rearrange strikes for the new year.

He said: “I cannot understand why, when I offered to rearrange strikes in January, why they didn’t take up that offer. Because if they wanted to just give me a kicking, well, there’s an opportunity to do that in January.

“I can only assume that the reason why they refuse to do that is because they know that this week will be most painful for the NHS.

“Most painful for me, sure, but to be honest, given the pressure that puts on other NHS staff and the risk it poses to patients, I don’t understand why the BMA have not been willing to compromise in that way.”

The BMA’s online poll for the Government’s deal will close on Monday, just two days before the five-day strike is set to start.