England’s National Health Service (NHS) is bracing for a turbulent week as tens of thousands of resident doctors launch a five-day strike, beginning at 7:00 a.m. on December 17, 2025. The British Medical Association (BMA), the union representing these doctors—formerly known as junior doctors—confirmed the industrial action after 83% of its members voted to reject the government’s latest offer in an online poll with a 65% turnout, according to BBC and Sky News. The decision comes at a time when hospitals across England are facing a dramatic surge in flu cases, with NHS England reporting a more than 55% rise in a single week and hospitalizations reaching over 2,600 patients daily, the highest for this time of year.
The government’s proposal, presented on December 10, 2025, sought to address some of the doctors’ concerns by expanding specialist training posts and covering out-of-pocket expenses such as exam fees. However, it notably did not include any new pay terms. Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who has presided over the ongoing dispute since Labour’s election victory, described the BMA’s decision as a “shocking disregard for patient safety,” calling the strike “self-indulgent, irresponsible and dangerous,” as reported by The Independent and BBC. He urged doctors to consider the gravity of walking out during what he termed “the moment of maximum danger” for the NHS, given the unprecedented flu pressures.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer echoed Streeting’s sentiments, telling MPs that he was “gutted” by the strike decision and labeling it “irresponsible at any time, particularly at the moment.” Starmer emphasized that the government’s offer followed a “very substantial pay increase over the last year or so,” and warned that the BMA’s course of action risked eroding public support for resident doctors, according to The Independent.
The BMA, for its part, remains steadfast in its pursuit of “full pay restoration”—a return to 2008-2009 salary levels in real terms, before years of inflation eroded doctors’ earnings. Despite government claims that resident doctors have received nearly a 29% pay rise over the past three years, the union insists that pay is still a fifth lower than it was in 2008 when adjusted for inflation. Dr Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee, said in a statement quoted by Al Jazeera and BBC, “Tens of thousands of frontline doctors have come together to say ‘no’ to what is clearly too little, too late.” He added, “This week’s strike is still entirely avoidable—the health secretary should now work with us in the short time we have left to come up with a credible offer to end this jobs crisis and avert the real-terms pay cuts he is pushing in 2026.”
While the government’s offer included measures to ease the path for doctors into specialist training and to cover certain expenses, it fell short of addressing the core issue of pay. Streeting has stood firm, stating that the BMA’s demand for an additional 26% pay rise on top of the recent increases was “fantasy.” He told Sky News, “There is no need for these strikes to go ahead this week, and it reveals the BMA’s shocking disregard for patient safety and for other NHS staff.” He appealed to “ordinary resident doctors” to continue working during this critical time, warning, “Abandoning your patients in their hour of greatest need goes against everything a career in medicine is meant to be about.”
This latest strike is the 14th in a long-running dispute that began in March 2023, and it will see resident doctors walking out from both emergency and non-urgent care. Senior doctors are expected to be drafted in to provide cover, but NHS leaders warn that the timing could not be worse. Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, told Sky News, “This vote is a bitter pill which will inevitably result in harm to patients and damage to the NHS. We had hoped that the government’s recent updated offer would be enough to head off another walkout at a time when so many people are suffering with flu, and the NHS needs all hands on deck.” Rory Deighton, acute and community care director at the NHS Confederation, described the strike as “bitterly disappointing,” highlighting the impact on an already stretched health service.
The flu season has arrived early and with unusual severity. The dominant strain, H3N2, is notorious for causing more severe illness and has mutated in ways that may reduce existing immunity, according to BBC. Across Europe, health authorities are grappling with similar surges, but England’s hospitals are feeling the brunt, with some facilities asking staff, patients, and visitors to wear masks and others entering and exiting critical incident status due to overwhelming demand in emergency departments.
Public support for the strikes has also waned. A recent YouGov poll found that 58% of respondents were opposed to the industrial action, while only 33% expressed support, as reported by Sky News. The government and NHS leaders have seized on these figures, warning that continued disruption risks alienating both the public and colleagues within the health service. Shadow health secretary Stuart Andrew added a political dimension, arguing, “We Conservatives repeatedly warned Labour that by giving inflation-busting pay rises last year they would set a dangerous precedent. And now we see the consequences of their capitulation, with more disruption, more demands and no end in sight.”
The BMA, however, insists that patient safety remains a top priority. Dr Fletcher stated the union would be in “close contact” with NHS England throughout the strike to “address safety concerns if they arise,” and stressed that the action was “still entirely avoidable” if the government returned to the negotiating table with a credible pay offer. The union’s position is that only a meaningful move on pay will resolve the dispute and end the cycle of industrial action that has gripped the NHS for nearly two years.
As the strike unfolds, England’s health service faces a perfect storm: a workforce crisis, a resurgent flu season, and deepening divisions between government, doctors, and the public. The coming days will test the resilience of the NHS and the willingness of all sides to find common ground amid a winter of discontent.
