After a tumultuous week for England’s National Health Service (NHS), doctors returned to work on December 22, 2025, following a five-day strike that left hospitals scrambling to keep up with surging flu cases and widespread disruptions. The walkout, which began on December 17, was the latest—and so far, the longest—episode in a series of industrial actions led by the British Medical Association (BMA) over pay and working conditions, according to BBC and Reuters.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who has held the post for a year and a half, didn’t mince words about the challenge. “The double whammy of strike action and flu this December posed the most serious threat to the NHS since I became health and social care secretary,” Streeting said in a public statement, as reported by Sky News. He credited the NHS’s ability to keep functioning to the “extraordinary efforts of the dedicated staff who work in it,” but warned, “the hardest yards are in the weeks ahead as we get the NHS through the busiest weeks of the year.”
The strike’s timing couldn’t have been worse. As resident doctors—formerly known as junior doctors—walked out, England’s hospitals were already facing a record number of flu admissions. Just over 3,000 patients were hospitalized with flu as of December 19, 2025, according to BBC. The NHS Confederation, representing hospital trusts, said the full impact on patients was still being assessed, but the immediate effects were clear: thousands of elective and outpatient appointments were canceled, and senior doctors were redeployed from their usual duties to cover emergency and urgent care.
For many patients, the disruption meant delayed treatments and uncertainty just as the Christmas holiday approached. Louise Stead, Group Chief Executive of Ashford and St Peter’s and Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trusts, told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, “After five days we have got a lot of very exhausted senior doctors who we now want to pivot into making sure we get patients out for Christmas and reduce our bed occupancy.” Hospitals across England were working around the clock to safely discharge as many patients as possible before the holiday.
At the heart of the dispute was pay. The BMA said that 83% of its English members had rejected the Labour government’s latest proposal, which included a rapid expansion of specialist training posts and coverage of out-of-pocket expenses such as exam fees. But, crucially, the government offer did not meet the union’s demand for a 26% salary rise over the next few years—a figure the BMA argues is necessary to restore doctors’ pay to pre-2008 levels after years of inflation. The doctors’ union maintains that, even after a 5.4% average pay rise in 2025 and a cumulative 28.9% increase over the last three years, resident doctors’ pay is still about 20% lower in real terms than it was in 2008.
Dr Jack Fletcher, chairman of the resident doctors committee at the BMA, was clear about the union’s position: “2026 must see less name-calling and more deal-making. What we need is a proper fix to this jobs crisis and a credible path towards restoring the lost value of the profession. That must mean the creation of genuinely new jobs and it could involve a responsible multi-year approach to restoring doctors’ pay.”
Streeting, for his part, has tried to balance public concern over hospital disruptions with the government’s financial constraints. “I do not want to see a single day of industrial action in the NHS in 2026 and will be doing everything I can to make this a reality,” he said, as quoted by Global Banking and Finance Review. He also emphasized, “My door remains open, as it always has done, and I’m determined to resume discussions with the BMA in the new year to put an end to these damaging cycles of disruption.”
Yet, the gap between the two sides remains wide. Streeting has been forthright about the government’s position: “The BMA is demanding an extra 26% on top of what we’ve already given. That is not a figure that we can afford but we will get around the table with them again in the new year,” he told reporters during a visit to an ambulance station in London last week, according to BBC. The health secretary has also criticized the union’s tactics, calling the strikes “self-indulgent” and accusing the BMA of a “shocking disregard for patient safety.” Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer went even further, labeling the walkout “dangerous and utterly irresponsible,” especially during a record-setting flu season.
Despite the heated rhetoric, both sides seem to recognize the need for ongoing dialogue. Dr Fletcher said the BMA is “keen to get round the table with Mr Streeting,” and the health secretary has repeatedly stated his willingness to resume talks in early 2026. The government’s latest offer even included a provision to extend the union’s strike mandate, allowing for any walkout to be rescheduled to January if needed.
The public, however, appears to have grown weary of the dispute. A recent YouGov poll cited by Sky News found that 58% of respondents either somewhat or strongly opposed the strike, while only 33% expressed support. With this backdrop, the BMA’s claim that the strike was “entirely avoidable” and its call for a “credible offer” to avert further industrial action have been met with mixed reactions.
Meanwhile, the NHS faces a daunting road ahead. Health experts warn that the effects of the strike will be felt well into the new year—and possibly beyond. The system must not only recover from the disruption of the past week, but also brace for the continued pressure of winter illnesses. As Streeting put it, “the hardest weeks of winter are still ahead.”
Looking north, Scotland’s resident doctors are preparing for their own national walkout from January 13 to 17, 2026—the first such action in NHS Scotland’s history. It’s a reminder that the issues fueling unrest in England are far from unique, and that the debate over pay, working conditions, and the future of the NHS is likely to continue across the UK.
For now, exhausted doctors and hospital staff are focused on discharging patients, rescheduling canceled appointments, and hoping for calmer days ahead. Whether the new year brings resolution or more unrest will depend on the willingness of both government and union leaders to find common ground, and on their ability to restore public trust in a health system under relentless strain.
