Wes Streeting has vowed not to allow striking doctors to “hold the country to ransom” after they began five days of “reckless” strike action on Friday. The Health Secretary insisted “we are doing everything we can to minimise” patient harm as thousands of resident doctors in England walked out over pay.
Asked about the risk of patient harm, he said: “I’m really proud of the way that NHS leaders and frontline staff have prepared and mobilised to minimise the disruption and minimise the risk of harm to patients. We’ve seen an extraordinary response, including people cancelling their leave, turning up for work, and resident doctors themselves ignoring their union to be there for patients. I’m extremely grateful to all of them.
“What I can’t do today is guarantee that there will be no disruption and that there is no risk of harm to patients. We are doing everything we can to minimise it, but the risk is there, and that is why the British Medical Association’s (BMA) action is so irresponsible.
“They had a 28.9% pay award from this Government in our first year, there was also an offer to work with them on other things that affect resident doctors – working lives – and that’s why I think this is such reckless action.
“This Government will not allow the BMA to hold the country to ransom, and we will continue to make progress on NHS improvement, as we’ve done in our first year.”
Striking doctors have told of difficult working conditions as they manned picket lines across England.
Resident doctor Kelly Johnson said Mr Streeting’s opposition to the strikes felt like “a slap in the face”.
Speaking outside St Thomas’ Hospital in London, where she works, she said: “Every union has the right to strike. It feels like a slap in the face to say that we are doing something that is unjust.
“Just because we’re doctors doesn’t mean we can’t come out and strike and protest for what we think is right.
“When doctors decide to take strike action it’s always portrayed as though we’re being selfish, but we’re here as a body to help the public day in, day out, to work hours that don’t even end sometimes.
“Here we are just trying to get what’s right for us so we can do our best to serve the public.”
BMA council chairman Dr Tom Dolphin told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the union had been expecting more pay for doctors.
He said: “Where we were last year when we started the pay campaign, we were down a third on our pay compared to 2008.
“So you’ve got last year’s pay offer which did indeed move us towards (pay restoration), but Wes Streeting himself said that pay restoration is a journey, not an event, implying that there would be further pay restoration to come, and we were expecting our pay to be restored in full – that’s our campaign’s goal.
“We got part way there, but then that came to a halt this year – we’ve only had an offer that brings us up, just to catch up with inflation.”
Members of the public have been urged to come forward for NHS care during the walkout, and are being asked to attend appointments unless told they are cancelled.
GP surgeries will open as usual and urgent care and A&E will continue to be available, alongside NHS 111, NHS England said.