The National Health Service in England is bracing for severe disruption this week after resident doctors overwhelmingly rejected a last-minute government offer, triggering a five-day strike. The industrial action, the 14th since March 2023, coincides with a rapidly growing winter flu wave, creating what health officials fear is a perfect storm for patient care.
Strike Proceeds as Pay Deal Rejected
Resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, voted by 83% to 17% to reject the latest proposal from Health Secretary Wes Streeting. The British Medical Association (BMA) had labelled the offer "too little, too late," meaning a planned walkout beginning at 7am on Wednesday will now go ahead. The deal would have doubled the number of training places junior doctors can apply for from 2,000 to 4,000 but did not include a further pay rise for 2025/26, which Streeting has ruled out.
The rejection has ignited a fresh war of words. Streeting condemned the industrial action as "self-indulgent, irresponsible and dangerous," arguing that the BMA's pursuit of a 26% pay rise was a "fantasy demand" given salaries have increased by 28.9% since 2022. In a direct plea, he urged doctors to work normally, stating that abandoning patients "goes against everything a career in medicine is meant to be about."
Mounting Pressure on Winter NHS Services
The timing of the strike could not be worse for the health service. Hospitals are already grappling with a so-called "flu-nami," with 2,660 people seriously ill in hospital – the highest number for this time of year on record. NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey has warned that figure could soon reach 8,000.
NHS bosses have been forced to reschedule an estimated 38,500 outpatient appointments and treatments, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. A senior official admitted hospitals may be harder hit than during previous walkouts, potentially unable to provide the 95% of planned, non-urgent care managed last time. Furthermore, consultants will be so busy covering for striking juniors that they may be unable to help with the traditional pre-Christmas discharge of patients to free up beds.
"We expect the operational impacts of this round of industrial action to be more severe due to the combination of winter pressures and proximity to Christmas," said Mike Prentice, NHS England's national director for emergency planning.
Calls for Mediation and Fears for Patient Safety
The Patients Association has called for immediate independent arbitration to break the "endless cycle of disruption, cancellations and anxiety." Its chief executive, Rachel Power, stated: "It’s clear the current approach isn’t working. Independent mediation is the only credible path to a lasting solution that protects patients."
Hospital leaders echoed these safety concerns. Rory Deighton of the NHS Confederation said, "We are concerned if resident doctors walk out during a record flu surge it could put patient safety at risk," urging the BMA to reconsider the "disproportionate" strikes.
The BMA has fiercely defended its position. Dr Jack Fletcher, head of the BMA's resident doctors committee, accused the government of "spin," arguing the offer merely "repurposed" existing roles and was "just shuffling the deck chairs on a sinking ship." He stated the 4,000 training places would not solve an NHS-wide bottleneck where up to 40,000 doctors compete for only 10,000 specialist training posts. He also criticised the proposed 2.5% pay uplift for 2026/27 as a "real-terms pay cut" with inflation closer to 4%.
As senior doctors are stationed at A&E entrances to redirect less urgent cases, the NHS faces one of its toughest winter challenges in years, with the stalemate between the government and junior doctors showing no sign of immediate resolution.
