Streeting: Striking with no warning is unconscionable

Wes Streeting has accused the British Medical Association (BMA) of advocating “unconscionable” behaviour after the union told junior doctors they do not need to inform their employers if they are planning to strike next week.

- KATE DEVLIN REBECCA THOMAS

The health secretary warned resident doctors yesterday that going ahead with the planned strike action would be ‘unreasonable’ and ‘self-defeating’ (House of Commons/UK Parliament) The health secretary described the advice as “shockingly irresponsible”, adding that he “cannot fathom” why any doctor would make it more difficult for managers to “make sure we have safe staffing levels”.

Resident doctors in England are set to strike for five days from 7am on 25 July as part of a pay dispute with the government. Leading doctors have warned that the “highly dangerous” industrial action risks harming the public’s trust in the profession. But the new leader of the BMA has said that the doctors’ 29 per cent pay demand is “nonnegotiable”, and that strikes could go on for years.

Yesterday, the union said the strike will go ahead even if a health warning is issued over rising temperatures next week.

Senior BMA leaders posted messages on social media over the weekend to tell doctors they do not have to alert their NHS trust if they are planning to strike, sparking fears over patient safety. On X, Dr Ross Nieuwoudt, co-leader of the BMA’s resident doctors committee, wrote: “You do NOT have a legal responsibility to disclose whether you are striking.”