Doctors in England begin 5-day strike over pay standoff amid flu surge

Resident doctors in England launched a five-day strike on Wednesday, escalating a long-running dispute over pay and working conditions as hospitals grapple with a severe flu outbreak.

Represented by the British Medical Association (BMA), this marks the 14th strike by junior doctors since March 2023, in a protracted conflict over stagnant wages.

The union is calling for a comprehensive plan to boost pay and a guarantee of new specialty training positions, citing a mounting “jobs crisis” in the NHS.

It has called on the government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer to develop “a genuinely long-term plan” addressing both pay and staffing.

The industrial action comes at a time when NHS hospitals are already under severe strain, with flu hospitalizations surging by more than 50% in early December.

NHS England warned last week that hospitals were facing a “worst-case scenario” from a particularly virulent strain of flu.

Jack Fletcher, a BMA resident doctor leader, said the doctors are on strike again "because we have not yet reached a credible deal to fix this absurd jobs crisis.”

He added, “No one has ever asked for anything double-digit overnight. What we’re asking for is to stop these real-time pay cuts that the government are imposing on doctors.”

The strike follows last-minute talks between the government and the union on Tuesday. While officials described the meeting as “constructive,” Progress was not sufficient to call off the walkout.

The BMA is seeking a 29% pay increase this year to restore salaries to 2008 levels in real terms.

British Health Minister Wes Streeting dismissed the strike as “self-indulgent, irresponsible and dangerous,” while Starmer called it “dangerous and utterly irresponsible.”

Resident doctors, who make up nearly half of the NHS workforce, are walking out of both emergency and non-urgent care, with senior doctors drafted in to provide limited cover.

The strike is expected to reduce doctor availability, forcing UK hospitals to prioritize life-saving care and reschedule routine appointments.

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