Christmas strike by resident doctors to go ahead as flu cases in hospitals surge

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.

Live updates: Doctors to strike

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 were "self-indulgent, irresponsible and dangerous" - and said doctors would be "abandoning" patients.

Mr Streeting said the BMA had refused to postpone strikes to January and "help patients and other NHS staff cope over Christmas". "There is no need for these strikes to go ahead this week, and it reveals the BMA's shocking disregard for patient safety," he added.

But the BMA said the strike was "still entirely avoidable" and that it was "willing to work to find a solution".

BMA resident doctors committee chair Dr Jack Fletcher said: "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 government's offer had included a fast expansion of specialist training posts as well as covering out-of-pocket expenses such as exam fees.

It did not include extra pay, but had offered to extend the union's strike mandate to enable any walkout to be rescheduled to January.

'Abandoning patients in 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."

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.

(c) Sky News 2025: Christmas strike by resident doctors to go ahead as flu cases in hospitals surge