BMA accuses Streeting of ‘scaremongering’ about NHS as strike looms

The British Medical Association (BMA) has accused Wes Streeting of “scaremongering”, after he warned that strikes before Christmas could push the NHS to collapse as it grapples with an outbreak of flu.

The doctors’ union claimed the Health Secretary had acted in a “cruel and calculated” way and described a Government offer intended to avert walkouts in the coming days as “poor”.

Strikes will take place for five consecutive days from 7am on December 17, unless resident doctors who are members of the union vote in favour of the deal.

In a new statement on Saturday, the BMA’s resident doctors committee chairman, Dr Jack Fletcher, said: “It is horrible for anyone to be suffering with flu, we are not diminishing the impact of that, but Mr Streeting should not be scaremongering the public into thinking that the NHS will not be able to look after them and their loved ones.”

He said the Health Secretary was “laying the blame for the failings of the NHS to cope with an outbreak of flu at the feet of resident doctors and yet he is strangely reluctant to turn that concern into action and come to the negotiating table”.

“What is cruel and calculated is the way in which the Health Secretary fails to have any engagement with us outside strikes and then comes to us with an offer he knows is poor and expects us to just accept it within 24 hours,” he added.

However, the union said that “in light of Mr Streeting’s claims about flu and the impact of strikes”, it had written to NHS trust leaders asking them to prioritise the safety of urgent care.

In the letter, BMA council chairman Dr Tom Dolphin said: “Given the recent claims and comments made by the Secretary of State regarding influenza, we trust that you will have rescheduled all less urgent activity to prioritise the safety of urgent and emergency care.”

He said the union acknowledged that “unpredictable events” and “major incidents” may occur, leading to a request for a derogation, whereby resident doctors cross the picket line to work for a limited period.

Derogations will not be granted “if planning has not occurred to incentivise or redeploy non-striking doctors to cover emergency work, or if non-emergency work is continuing that would release suitable staff to cover”, he said.

The Government has said a further pay increase is off the negotiating table after resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, received pay rises totalling nearly 30% in the past three years.

The BMA says their real-terms pay has declined by about 20% over the last 17 years.

Polling suggests public support for strikes is low, with a new YouGov survey showing 58% of respondents either somewhat or strongly oppose the industrial action while 33% somewhat or strongly support it.

Writing in the Guardian, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the strikes were “reckless” and “beyond belief” as the NHS grapples with an outbreak of what experts say is a new mutated form of flu.

Ministers have said the latest offer to the BMA gives them the chance to defer strikes until after Christmas.

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 earlier said the health service is facing “probably worst pressure” since Covid and urged resident doctors to accept the deal.

“The whole NHS team is working around the clock to keep the show on the road. But it’s an incredibly precarious situation,” he wrote in the Times.

“Christmas strikes could be the Jenga piece that collapses the tower.”

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