The National Health Service (NHS) in England is bracing for a major disruption this December as resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, prepare to stage a five-day strike in the critical run-up to Christmas. The walkout, scheduled from 7am on December 17 until 7am on December 22, 2025, marks the latest chapter in a long-simmering dispute between the British Medical Association (BMA) and the government over pay and working conditions.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has not minced words about his frustration with the doctors’ union. In a series of interviews this week, Streeting accused the BMA of “juvenile delinquency” and described their approach as “irresponsible and high risk,” especially given the immense pressures currently facing the NHS. “With the BMA, certainly. I mean, whether it’s the rhetoric and the behaviour of the BMA around general practice, whether it is yet another round of unnecessary strike action being proposed by resident doctors who’ve had a 28.9% pay rise, we’ve seen an outbreak in the British Medical Association of juvenile delinquency, and it is irresponsible, because we know that the NHS is under real pressure,” Streeting told Sky News on December 3, 2025.
The timing of the strike has raised particular concern among both government officials and healthcare leaders. Streeting emphasized that the NHS is “running hot at the moment,” with recent 999 emergency call volumes and Accident & Emergency (A&E) demand reaching levels typically seen only on New Year’s Eve—the busiest night of the year for the NHS. “Just in the last week, we’ve seen 999 call volumes and A&E demand of a kind we normally only ever see on New Year’s Eve, which is the busiest night of the year for the NHS. So the NHS is running hot at the moment, and industrial action is the last thing that patients, or indeed other NHS staff, need,” he told BBC Breakfast.
Streeting’s warnings come against the backdrop of mounting public skepticism about the strike. According to a new YouGov poll, 53% of Britons now oppose the resident doctors’ strike, while 38% remain in support. This marks the highest level of opposition recorded by YouGov to date and signals a shift in public sentiment as the dispute drags on. The poll results add another layer of complexity to the standoff between the BMA and the government, highlighting the delicate balance between supporting healthcare professionals and maintaining public trust in essential services.
The upcoming strike will be the 14th by resident doctors since March 2023, following a previous walkout from November 14 to November 19, 2025. Despite the frequency of such actions, the NHS managed to maintain 95% of scheduled care during the last round of strikes. However, Streeting cautioned that the proximity of the upcoming walkout to Christmas introduces “a different order of magnitude of risk,” with the potential for greater disruption to patient care and increased strain on already-stretched NHS resources.
“Striking just before Christmas in the way that’s proposed is a different order of magnitude of risk, which is why I think it is particularly irresponsible and it’s unnecessary,” Streeting said. He added, “It’s not too late to avert that strike action.” While he acknowledged that the NHS has shown resilience during previous industrial actions, he stressed that the challenges posed by the timing and current pressures are unprecedented. “But what I can’t do, and what I won’t do, is sit here and pretend to people watching that there wouldn’t be disruption, that there wouldn’t be greater risk, that there wouldn’t be patients receiving a standard of care that I do not think is acceptable,” he told Sky News.
Streeting’s criticisms were not limited to the strike itself. He also took aim at the BMA’s opposition to online GP appointments, despite the fact that 98.7% of general practices now offer them. “The BMA is not only holding back the NHS’s recovery and inflicting damage on patients, it’s also self-defeating for their members who are having to work in these conditions,” he argued. Notably, patient satisfaction with GP access has reportedly risen from 60% when Labour took office to 75% today, according to Streeting.
Despite the heated rhetoric, Streeting insisted that the door to negotiation remains open. He noted that officials have been in ongoing discussions with the BMA since the last round of strikes and that recent correspondence from the union suggests they are willing to keep the option of calling off the walkout on the table. “So let’s see what we can do in the coming days, to see if we can reach an agreement. We can’t afford to go further on pay this year. We can’t afford to do that. There are lots of things where we agree and we want to make progress. So let’s see if we can come to a sensible agreement that works for everyone,” Streeting said.
Nevertheless, the Health Secretary was candid about the risks involved. When asked about the possibility of life-threatening consequences, he admitted, “I don’t want to sound catastrophic about it, but that’s my fear always.” Clinical leaders, he said, are “fearful” of the strike’s potential impact, particularly given the unique challenges posed by the festive season.
The BMA, for its part, maintains that the strike could still be averted if the government addresses resident doctors’ concerns over pay and job security. The union argues that despite the recent 28.9% pay rise highlighted by Streeting, issues of workload, burnout, and retention remain unresolved. The BMA insists that failing to address these fundamental concerns not only undermines staff morale but also jeopardizes the long-term sustainability of the NHS.
Streeting, meanwhile, rejected the notion that negotiations had completely broken down. “Officials have been engaging with the BMA since the last round of strikes, which is why I was disappointed and surprised that they announced action this week,” he told LBC radio. “Proud though I am of the way that NHS leaders and frontline staff got through previous strike action ... I’ve got to be honest, the next round of strike action planned is a different order of magnitude when it comes to the challenge and the risk, because of the time of year, the pressures on the NHS, and that’s why I think this is particularly irresponsible. But I will do my best to try and see off strike action at the same time as preparing to get us through it.”
As the December 17 deadline approaches, the stakes for patients, staff, and the NHS as a whole could hardly be higher. The government faces mounting pressure to resolve the dispute without conceding to further pay increases, while the BMA continues to press its case for improved conditions and job security. For many, the looming strike is a test of the government’s ability to balance fiscal responsibility with the urgent needs of the healthcare system—and the outcome will be watched closely across the country.
With negotiations ongoing and public opinion shifting, the days ahead will be crucial in determining whether the NHS can avoid a holiday season marred by disruption and uncertainty.
