Resident doctors acting in ‘unconscionable way’ over strikes – Streeting

The Government and the British Medical Association are set to meet this week.

The Health Secretary has said a member of his own family is waiting for an “inevitable” phone call to tell them their NHS procedure has been postponed as a result of planned resident doctor strike action.

Wes Streeting also said the British Medical Association (BMA) is acting in an “unconscionable” way by telling members not to tell their employers if they are planning to strike.

Mr Streeting said he “cannot fathom” why “any doctor in good conscience would make it harder for managers to make sure we have safe staffing levels”.

And the Cabinet minister said that he does not see a “reasonable trade union partner” in the Resident Doctors Committee (RDC) of the BMA “at this time”.

The comments come ahead of crunch talks between the union and the Government this week.

Ministers have said they will not budge on pay but are willing to discuss other issues facing resident doctors.

The BMA announced last week that resident doctors – formerly known as junior doctors – in England would walk out for five consecutive days from 7am on July 25 amid an ongoing pay dispute with the Government.

“We can mitigate against the impact of strikes, and we will, but what we cannot do is promise that there will be no consequence and no delay, no further suffering, because there are lots of people whose procedures are scheduled over that weekend period and in the period subsequently, where the NHS has to recover from the industrial action, who will see their operations and appointments delayed,” Mr Streeting told the House of Commons’ Health and Social Care Committee of MPs.

“I have a relative in that position.

“My family are currently dreading what I fear is an inevitable phone call saying that there is going to be a delay to this procedure.

“And I just think this is an unconscionable thing to do to the public, not least given the 28.9% pay rise.”

He went on: “The other thing that I have found actually shockingly irresponsible about the BMA’s position is their leaders seem to be telling their members not to inform their trusts or their employers if they’re going out on strike.

“Now, I might not agree with the BMA strike action, but I do accept they have a right to strike.

“I do accept they follow the rules in order to go on strike.

“What I cannot fathom is how any doctor in good conscience would make it harder for managers to make sure we have safe staffing levels.

“So I just think the sort of the BMA’s approach to this from start to finish has been completely wrong.”

The Health Secretary added: “And the idea that doctors would go on strike without informing their employer, not allowing planning for safe staffing, I think, is unconscionable, and I would urge resident doctors who are taking part in strike actions, do the right thing.”

Mr Streeting said he was “pleased” the BMA had taken up the offer of a meeting this week “to see if we can avert strike action”.

But he also told the committee there is “no room for manoeuvre” on pay and that talks would focus on other ways to improve the working lives of resident doctors.

“I think it would be a catastrophic mistake for the BMA to throw all of that progress into reverse by walking out on strike,” Mr Streeting added.

The Health Secretary said that resident doctors had “chosen confrontation”, and told MPs: “I don’t see a reasonable trade union partner in the RDC section of the BMA at this time.”

He added: “I do regret that they are in danger of squandering the opportunity of partnership in favour of a more adversarial approach, which is unnecessary and I fear will prove self-defeating, because if these strikes go ahead with the financial costs that are entailed, not to mention the misery inflicted on patients, we have to find that money from somewhere, and that will come at the expense of things that they value.”

Mr Streeting said he was “proud of the deal” struck with the BMA last year to end the previous tranche of walkouts.

Meanwhile NHS England boss Sir Jim Mackey told the committee: “Everybody respects the right to strike, but this is hugely disruptive, much more disruptive than we’ve been able to describe so far.”

He added: “A lot of this narrow definition about what’s ‘technically necessary’, I don’t accept – it’s not that straightforward and we won’t be accepting that kind of process this time.

“So I really hope that this is avoidable, but we also can’t allow this to play out in a way that it did last time, with a huge impact on people’s lives, colleagues working in the service, a cancellation and a disruption of clinical pathways.

“There’s a whole range of other disruption that comes with this that we must avoid at all costs.”

The union has said that resident doctors need a pay uplift of 29.2% to reverse “pay erosion” since 2008/09.

In September, BMA members voted to accept a Government pay deal worth 22.3% on average over two years.

The 2025/26 pay deal saw resident doctors given a 4% uplift plus £750 “on a consolidated basis” – working out as an average pay rise of 5.4%.

The BMA said it will not comment further ahead of the meeting with Mr Streeting.

Meanwhile, asked about the prospect of nurses on picket lines, the Health Secretary told MPs: “Well, I hope that we’re not going to get to that position with nurses, not least because we do have a reasonable dialogue and relationship with the Royal College of Nursing, Unison and others.

“We’re working with those unions on Agenda for Change pay structure reform, that is what we have agreed to do.

“I think so long as we fulfil our end of the bargain, then everyone will be happy and we can move forward, building on that progress.

“If this Government breaks its commitment to nurses and Agenda for Change staff, I think they would be rightly and justifiably angry, which is why we’re not going to do that.”