Row over NHS doctor strike deepens as poll suggests public support is waning
NHS Providers, which represents hospital trusts, hit back at BMA claims that health leaders were putting patients at risk, saying it was actually the 'costly' BMA strike that was risking patient care.
It comes as Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the House of Commons he 'sincerely hopes the BMA will postpone' the 'unnecessary and irresponsible' strikes to continue talks with the Government, which he said had been 'constructive' in recent days.
He said, however, the Government stands 'ready' and 'responsive' if the five-day strike by resident doctors, which is scheduled to start at 7am on Friday, does go ahead.
Earlier, the BMA said NHS England plans for managing the strike could put patients at risk owing to the fact it has ordered hospitals to continue with as much pre-planned care as possible.
We've written to NHS England with concerns about inadequate planning ahead of possible strike action later this week. Attempts to run non-urgent services with fewer doctors risk patient safety. It's imperative that Trusts postpone work to protect urgent and emergency care. pic.twitter.com/cUtMdox9kg
— The BMA (@TheBMA) July 21, 2025
Previous strikes by health workers have seen hundreds of thousands of operations and appointments cancelled, but NHS England is taking a different approach this time to managing the strike.
In a letter to hospital trust leaders, it urges the health system to focus on maintaining emergency care, maintaining the flow of patients and 'maintaining elective care to the fullest extent possible' as well as 'priority treatments' such as cancer care.
'It will be important for systems and trusts to try and maintain normal levels of booked activity…' it said, adding: 'Reducing volumes of bookings and rescheduling of appointments and other activity should only happen in exceptional circumstances to safeguard patient safety.'
On Tuesday morning, BMA deputy chairwoman Dr Emma Runswick told BBC Radio 4's Today programme this plan risked patient safety.
She said: 'We've had proven systems over the last decade that have made sure that where we have to take strike action, senior doctors cover urgency and critical care.
'This time round, NHS England are pushing for the continuation of non-urgent and scheduled care in a way that we think at best is confusing and will create on-the-day cancellations – and at worst could be risky and lead to harm in emergency departments and on wards, because senior doctors cannot physically be in two places at once.
'We think that a notional guidance from NHS England which is saying that basically all scheduled work should continue to go ahead has potential to be seriously risky for patients…
'Senior doctors are needed to be freed up in order to provide urgency and critical care.
'We think the vast majority of planned and unscheduled care should be shifted.'
NHS Providers hit back at the BMA's claims, saying it was the strike itself that posed a risk to patients.
Its chief executive, Daniel Elkeles, said: 'The NHS, not the BMA, is putting patients' interests first.
'Given that some patients will be caused undoubted harm if the short-notice strike goes ahead, NHS trusts are doing the responsible thing by not cancelling people's care while talks to avert the strike are ongoing.
'Now is a time for cool heads in the BMA because it's not too late to avoid a damaging, costly strike. NHS trust leaders hope for a breakthrough from talks between Government and the union.
'If the strike goes ahead then NHS trusts will do everything they can to avoid any harm to patients and are planning for as many patients as possible to be cared for.'
It comes as a new YouGov poll showed about half (52%) of people in the UK either 'somewhat oppose' (20%) or 'strongly oppose' (32%) the idea of resident doctors going on strike over pay.
Meanwhile, a third (34%) of the 4,954 adults surveyed either 'somewhat support' (23%) or 'strongly support' (11%) doctor strikes.
YouGov said the proportion supporting the strike over pay has dropped five points since it last asked the question in May.
Then, 48% opposed resident doctors striking, while 39% supported them taking action.
Speaking in the Commons on Tuesday, Mr Streeting said that before he came into office, 'strikes were crippling the NHS'.
He added: 'Costs ran to £1.7 billion in just one year, and patients saw 1.5 million appointments rescheduled.
'Strikes this week are not inevitable, and I sincerely hope the BMA will postpone this action to continue the constructive talks my team and I have had with them in recent days.
'Regardless, our priority is to keep patients safe, and we will do everything we can to mitigate the impacts of strikes on patients and the disruption that will follow should these totally unnecessary and avoidable strikes go ahead.'
Quizzed by MPs, he said the 'approach we're taking is different from that taken in previous periods of strike action'.
He added: 'NHS leaders have been clear to me that previous rounds of strike action caused much wider levels of harm than previously realised, and there is no reason why planned care in issues like cancer, for example, cancer appointments, as well as other conditions should be treated as somehow less important or second fiddle to other NHS services.
'That is why the chief executive of NHS England has written to NHS leaders asking them to keep routine operations going to the fullest extent possible, as well as continuing priority treatments.
'It will be for local leaders to determine what's possible given staffing levels.
'That's why it's really important that resident doctors do engage with their employers about their determination or not to turn up at work this week, and why again, I just spell out the serious consequences for patients that means that these avoidable and unnecessary strikes should not go ahead.'
Consultants and SAS doctors in England – look out for your indicative ballot email from @TheBMA today!
Wes Streeting called pay restoration "a journey, not an event" – so why have we stopped?
Are you prepared to stand up to demand your value is recognised by the government? pic.twitter.com/f5KJ1colP7
— Tom Dolphin🏳️🌈 🏳️⚧️ (@thomasdolphin) July 21, 2025
Elsewhere, the BMA has also issued strike guidance for consultants regarding the extra pay they can seek for covering work that is not in their contracts.
The BMA 'rate card' says consultants can ask for £188 per hour on weekdays from 7am-7pm and £250 an hour from 7pm to 11pm.
At weekends, the pay claim can rise to £250 per hour from 7am to 11am and £313 per hour for overnight work from 11pm to 7am.
Resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, were awarded an average 5.4% pay increase this financial year, following a 22% rise over the previous two years.
However, the BMA says real-terms pay has still fallen by around 20% since 2008, and is pushing for full 'pay restoration'.
Resident doctors are qualified doctors in clinical training.
They have completed a medical degree and can have up to nine years of working experience as a hospital doctor, depending on their specialty, or up to five years of working and gaining experience to become a GP.
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South Wales Argus
6 hours ago
- South Wales Argus
Streeting: We are doing everything we can to minimise patient harm during strike
A five-day walkout by resident doctors in England is under way, with members of the British Medical Association (BMA) manning picket lines across the country. The Health Secretary condemned the strike as 'reckless' and said the Government would not allow the BMA to 'hold the country to ransom'. Asked about the risk of patient harm during a visit to NHS England HQ in London, he told the PA news agency on Friday: 'I'm really proud of the way that NHS leaders and frontline staff have prepared and mobilised to minimise the disruption and minimise the risk of harm to patients. 'We've seen an extraordinary response, including people cancelling their leave, turning up for work, and resident doctors themselves ignoring their union to be there for patients. I'm extremely grateful to all of them. 'What I can't do today is guarantee that there will be no disruption and that there is no risk of harm to patients. 'We are doing everything we can to minimise it, but the risk is there, and that is why the BMA's action is so irresponsible. 'They had a 28.9% pay award from this Government in our first year, there was also an offer to work with them on other things that affect resident doctors – working lives – and that's why I think this is such reckless action. 'This Government will not allow the BMA to hold the country to ransom, and we will continue to make progress on NHS improvement, as we've done in our first year.' Asked about next steps and the continued threat of doctor strikes, given the BMA has a six-month mandate to call more industrial action, Mr Streeting said: 'When the BMA asks, 'what's the difference between a Labour government and a Conservative government?', I would say a 28.9% pay rise and a willingness to work together to improve the working conditions and lives of doctors. Resident doctors are beginning a five-day strike (James Manning/PA) 'That is why the public and other NHS staff cannot understand why the BMA have chosen to embark on this totally unnecessary, reckless strike action.' It comes as NHS chief executive Sir Jim Mackey told broadcasters on Friday about his different approach to managing the strike, including keeping as much pre-planned care going as possible rather than just focusing on emergency care. 'So the difference this time is the NHS has put a huge effort in to try and get back on its feet,' he said at NHS England HQ in London. 'As everybody's been aware, we've had a really tough period, and you really feel colleagues on the ground, local clinical leaders, clinical operational colleagues etc, really pulling together to try and get the NHS back on its feet. 'And we also learned from the last few rounds of industrial action that harm to patients and disruption to patients was much broader than the original definitions. So we've decided to say it needs to be a broader definition. We can't just focus on that small subset of care. 'Colleagues in the service have tried to keep as much going as humanly possible as well, and the early signs are that that's been achieved so far, but it is early doors. 'In the end, capacity will have to be constrained by the numbers of people we've actually got who do just turn up for work, and what that means in terms of safe provision, because the thing that colleagues won't compromise is safety in the actual delivery. But it does look like people have really heard that. 'They're really pulling together to maximise the range of services possible.' Asked about further strikes, he said: 'It is possible. I would hope not. I would hope after this, we'll be able to get people in a room and resolve the issue. 'But if we are in this with a six month mandate, we could be doing this once a month for the next next six months, but we've got to organise ourselves accordingly.' The Prime Minister has said the strikes will 'cause real damage' (PA) Asked why he was not willing to bump pay from what the BMA calculates is £18 an hour to £22 per hour, Mr Streeting told broadcasters: 'I think the public can see, and other NHS staff can see the willingness this Government showed from day one coming into office to try and deal with what had been over a decade of failure on behalf of the previous government, working with resident doctors to improve their pay and to improve the NHS. 'That's why resident doctors had a 28.9% pay award, and that's why the disruption they are inflicting on the country is so unnecessary and so irresponsible.' Mr Streeting said 'we know there'll be real challenges over the next five days'. He added that patients, particularly those who end up waiting a long time for care due to strikes, 'do come to harm, and however much the BMA try and sugarcoat it, what they are fundamentally doing today is forgetting the three words that should be at the forefront of every doctor's minds every day, which is, 'do no harm'.' On whether strikes are going to become the 'new normal', he added: 'As I've said before, the BMA have had a 28.9% pay award from this Government, and we were willing to go further to help on some of the working conditions that doctors face. 'That offer of joint working, that partnership approach, that hasn't gone away, but it does take two to tango, and I hope that the BMA will reflect very carefully on the disruption they are inflicting on patients, the pressures they're putting on their colleagues, and the circumstances in which they are doing so – a 28.9% pay rise and a government that was willing to work with them. 'Those are not grounds for strike action.' It comes after Sir Keir Starmer made a last-minute appeal to resident doctors, saying the strikes would 'cause real damage'. He added: 'Most people do not support these strikes. They know they will cause real damage… 'These strikes threaten to turn back the clock on progress we have made in rebuilding the NHS over the last year, choking off the recovery.' The BMA has argued that real-terms pay has fallen by around 20% since 2008, and is pushing for full 'pay restoration'. The union took out national newspaper adverts on Friday, saying it wanted to 'make clear that while a newly qualified doctor's assistant is taking home over £24 per hour, a newly qualified doctor with years of medical school experience is on just £18.62 per hour'. BMA council chairman Dr Tom Dolphin told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the union had been expecting more pay for doctors. He said: 'Where we were last year when we started the pay campaign, we were down a third on our pay compared to 2008. 'So you've got last year's pay offer which did indeed move us towards (pay restoration), but Wes Streeting himself said that pay restoration is a journey, not an event, implying that there would be further pay restoration to come, and we were expecting our pay to be restored in full – that's our campaign's goal. 'We got part way there, but then that came to a halt this year – we've only had an offer that brings us up, just to catch up with inflation.' Asked what it would take for doctors to go back to work, he said the BMA needed to see 'a clear, guaranteed pathway' to pay restoration. He added that 'it's very disappointing to see a Labour Government taking such a hard line against trade unions'. Elsewhere, the Nottingham City Hospital – where Dr Melissa Ryan, co-chairwoman of the BMA's resident doctors' committee works in paediatrics – reached an agreement with the BMA to exempt one doctor from the strike to work on the neonatal intensive care unit. Speaking from a London picket line, Dr Ryan told The Times: 'I do know that we've granted a derogation already. It is actually at my work, with the babies on one of the neonatal units I work on. That is because it is an intensive care unit for babies. 'We don't have enough senior staff to cover the doctors that aren't there, the residents. And actually, it is important to us that those very sick babies get a lot of care. So we have granted a resident doctor to go back.' A derogation was agreed for one doctor in the emergency department and another doctor in the ISGM at the Northern General Hospital. 'We advise resident doctors to return to work if contacted by the Trust to staff these shifts tonight,' the BMA said in an X post on Friday evening. The BMA said it had also agreed a derogation for two anaesthetists to work at University Hospital Lewisham on Saturday to ensure patient safety. Louise Stead, group chief executive of Ashford and St Peter's and Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trusts, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that around 500 appointments were being rescheduled 'but we are continuing to do about 96% of the work we've had planned'.
Daily Mirror
8 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Tesco UK boss: 'Price alone won't help customers to shop a healthier basket'
Ashwin Prasad, the chief executive of Tesco's UK arm, writes: 'We, and the whole food industry, can and must innovate and find new ways to encourage healthier choices' Good health starts with good food. We all know the importance of getting a balanced diet – for our health, and the health of those we care about. But worryingly, the latest data shows many of us aren't getting the nutritious diet we need. Fewer than one in five adults and one in 10 children regularly eat the recommended five-a-day. That needs to change. Getting enough fruit and veg can reduce the risk of longer-term health conditions, like heart disease, stroke, and some types of cancer. As the Government's new food strategy rightly identifies, the more people we can help to eat their five-a-day, the more people we can help to live healthier lives. That means we need to listen and understand the barriers people face to getting their five-a-day. Over the last year, we have been working with the British Nutrition Foundation to understand in more detail the challenges our customers face when it comes to eating healthily. We spent time in communities up and down the UK, speaking to community members, including youth and charity workers, council members, and health professionals. Affordability is of course front of mind for many. But it's clear that price alone won't help customers to shop a healthier basket. We want to help our customers make small changes that amount to big health benefits for themselves and their families. People told us they want help with ideas and inspiration, or need more confidence in cooking healthy meals. And they want to see young people empowered to make healthier choices through access to fruit and veg and education. We, and the whole food industry, can and must innovate and find new ways to encourage healthier choices, so we can put healthy food in the hands of customers, more of the time. That's why at Tesco we are launching a campaign to help families eat their five-a-day. We are investing in new initiatives to inspire and incentivise our customers to make healthier choices easier for everyone. That includes new personalised Clubcard Stamps for millions of customers on fruit and veg that will be tailored to their buying habits, Clubcard Challenges on frozen and tinned fruit and veg and pulses, additional Clubcard prices and offers in store, and refreshed recipe inspiration online. That's on top of long-running promotions on fruit and veg, like Fresh 5, and two thirds of our Aldi Price Match products being healthy. We'll also be building out our support for kids to get off to a healthy start in life. As well as providing millions of pieces of fruit and vegetables to thousands of children in 400 schools across the UK this year through our Fruit & Veg for Schools programme, we'll be giving away free fruit for kids in selected stores across the UK during the school holidays. We're committed to doing our part, now and in future – but we won't solve this alone. It's time for the whole food industry to come together with the Government and wider society so that great nutrition is something everyone can enjoy. As Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting says: "Obesity has doubled since the 1990s and costs our NHS £11 billion a year, triple the budget for ambulance services. Unless we curb the rising tide of cost and demand, the NHS risks becoming unsustainable. The good news is that it only takes a small change to make a big difference. If everyone who is overweight reduced their calorie intake by around 200 calories a day - the equivalent of a bottle of fizzy drink - obesity would be halved. This government's ambition for kids today is for them to be part of the healthiest generation of children ever. That is within our grasp. With the smart steps we're taking today, we can give every child a healthy start to life. "Our brilliant supermarkets already do so much work for our communities and are trying to make their stores heathier, and we want to work with them and other businesses to create a level playing field. Through our new healthy food standard, we will make the healthy choice the easy choice, because prevention is better than cure. By shifting from sickness to prevention through our Plan for Change, we will make sure the NHS can be there for us when we need it." Only through collective and co-ordinated action across the whole of the food industry can we make an impact at scale. Doing so will not only help millions of families to live healthier lives. It will also boost our economy, reduce the number of people living with long-term health conditions linked to poor diet, and relieve pressure on our health services. The Government's plans to mandate food businesses to report on healthy food sales and take action to increase them are a positive step. We look forward to working with them on the details of the Healthy Food Standard and its implementation by all relevant food businesses to create a truly level playing field. We're committed to playing our part, working with the wider food industry and our health charity partners. We've shown what's possible when we work together as an industry. Through further collaboration and innovation, we can work to put healthy choices into the hands of customers, wherever they live, more of the time.
The Sun
9 hours ago
- The Sun
NHS strike chaos threatens to spread as paramedics REJECT pay offer on first day of doctors' walkout
NHS strikes threatened to spread yesterday as paramedics in the GMB union voted to reject their annual pay offer. It came as a five-day walkout by hospital resident doctors began over pay, led by the British Medical Association union. NHS chiefs said the health service was still 'open for business'. But ambulance crews and other NHS staff in the GMB union yesterday voted 67 per cent in favour of rejecting their 3.6 per cent offer for this year's pay rise. Paramedics joined nursing strikes in the winter of 2022-23 and could vote to do so again if they cannot get a better offer from Health Secretary Wes Streeting. National Secretary Rachel Harrison said: 'We have written to Wes Streeting, asking him to meet with us to discuss pay and other issues.' The Royal College of Nursing is also angry at getting a lower wage rise than doctors — and hospital consultants with the BMA are also considering striking again. As resident doctors, formerly called junior doctors, kicked off their strike to demand for a 29 per cent pay rise over the 5.4 per cent offer, Mr Streeting warned he could not guarantee patient safety. He said: 'I'm really proud of the way that NHS leaders and frontline staff have mobilised to minimise the disruption and the risk of harm to patients. 'What I can't do is guarantee there will be none. That's why the BMA's action is so irresponsible.' The BMA has made one exception for its strike so far. It allowed resident doctors to be called in to cover neo-natal intensive care at Nottingham City Hospital to protect newborn babies' lives. Strike leader Dr Melissa Ryan, who works there, said: 'We don't have enough senior staff to cover the doctors that aren't there. "It is important to us that those very sick babies get a lot of care.'
