Doctors strike as flu fills UK hospitals before Christmas

MANCHESTER, England (CN) — Resident doctors in England will strike for five days starting Wednesday, just days before Christmas, as hospitals report the highest flu admissions for this point in winter since records began.

The walkout comes after union members voted to reject a new government offer, even as officials warn the National Health Service is under extreme strain.

The British Medical Association, the doctors’ union, said 83% of voting members backed continuing the strike, with a turnout of 65%. The action is set to begin Wednesday morning and will be the 14th strike since the dispute began in March 2023.

Resident doctors is a British term for doctors in training, formerly called junior doctors. They make up almost half of England’s medical workforce.

They will walk out of emergency and non-urgent care, with senior doctors drafted in to provide cover.

Vote to strike as flu admissions surge

The strike was called just as flu cases climbed sharply.

Health officials say the number of patients hospitalized with flu rose more than 50% in a single week, topping 2,600 in early December.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the timing of the strike was dangerous.

“The BMA has chosen Christmas strikes to inflict damage on the NHS at the moment of maximum danger,” said the health secretary. “These strikes are self-indulgent, irresponsible and dangerous."

He warned the strike would add pressure to hospitals already dealing with what he called “probably the worst pressure the NHS has faced since Covid.”

Streeting said the government had recently made a fresh offer, which prompted the union’s snap poll.

That offer included more specialty training posts and coverage for out-of-pocket costs such as exam fees, but did not include new pay commitments.

The health secretary has said he will not reopen pay talks after resident doctors’ salaries rose by nearly 30% over the past three years, calling further demands “fantasy.”

Why doctors are striking

The union says the offer fails to address pay erosion and job security.

While resident doctors’ pay has risen, the BMA argues their earnings remain about a fifth lower than in 2008, once inflation is taken into account.

Prior to the vote, the BMA resident doctors committee chair Dr. Jack Fletcher said the offer was “the result of thousands of resident doctors showing that they are prepared to stand up for their profession and its future.”

He said it forced the government to recognize the scale of the problems but did nothing to restore pay.

Fletcher noted that, “With neither a credible plan to fix the jobs’ crisis for resident doctors nor address their pay erosion coming from government, we have no choice but to announce more strike dates.”

Record flu levels force schools and hospitals to act

Health officials noted that flu season arrived earlier than usual this winter and is being driven by a mutated H3N2 strain, to which people have less immunity.

Children ages 5 to 14 have the highest positivity rates, while hospital admissions are highest among adults over 75 and children under 5.

NHS England’s medical director, Meghana Pandit, said, “This unprecedented wave of superflu is leaving the NHS facing a worst-case scenario for this time of year — with staff being pushed to the limit to keep providing the best possible care for patients.”

Some schools have brought back measures last seen during the Covid-19 pandemic. In the northeast of England, one primary school canceled holiday events after a flu outbreak.

Principal Tammy Cooper wrote to families on social media: “Due to a significant outbreak of staff and children coming down with Influenza, I feel that it would not be safe to bring the school community together at this time and therefore I have made the difficult decision to cancel all Xmas parental engagement activities, xmas performances and xmas lunch.”

Hospitals are also tightening rules. Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, in greater Manchester said, “Our Emergency Department continues to be incredibly busy. We’re caring for a lot of patients who have flu. As a temporary measure, we’re advising patients and visitors to wear face masks in our Emergency Department and on our wards.”

Patients are describing more severe symptoms. Lee from Coventry shared on social media that, “This flu that’s going around has completely wiped me out. It’s honestly the worst I’ve felt in a long time.”

Public support for doctors shows strain

Speaking after the vote on Monday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “It’s irresponsible at any time, particularly at the moment,” adding that “It comes on the back of a very substantial pay increase in the last year or so.”

The prime minister urged resident doctors to “push back against the BMA,” and that they are losing “the sympathy they might otherwise have had for the difficult job that they do.”

The BMA rejects that it’s putting the public at greater risk.

In a statement, Fletcher said Streeting was “scaremongering the public into thinking that the NHS will not be able to look after them and their loved ones.”

Doctors in the U.K. typically rank among the most trusted professions, and that trust has often carried over during past strikes.

This time appears different.

A recent YouGov poll found 58% of the public oppose the strike, including 38% strongly. Only one-third of respondents said they support new action.

The poll suggests growing unease as industrial action collides with a severe flu season and crowded hospitals, a mix that leaves patients and staff bracing for a difficult week.

Courthouse News reporter James Francis Whitehead is based in England.

Follow @jayfranklinlive