What dates will NHS doctors' strike start and finish?

What dates will NHS doctors' strike start and finish?

The government has warned that the BMA strikes will 'undoubtedly' put lives at risk.

Ellen Manning

Connor Parker

Updated

Mon, December 15, 2025 at 12:56 PM UTC

3 min read

London, UK. 3rd January 2024. Picket outside St Thomas’ Hospital as junior doctors begin their six-day strike, the longest in NHS history. Credit: Vuk Valcic/Alamy — Halth secretary Wes Streeting has warned the NHS is close to collapse. (Alamy)

An NHS doctors' strike in the run-up to Christmas will go ahead after members of the British Medical Association rejected a new offer from the Government, the union has said.

The BMA said 83.2% of those who took part in a poll rejected the offer, with a turnout of 65.34%.

Last week, NHS England said it was facing the "worst case scenario" after flu cases rose by more than 55% in a week.

The government has warned that the NHS strikes will put lives at risk amid the wave of "superflu" cases.

Ahead of the close of the vote, health secretary Wes Streeting had ramped up pressure on the BMA, saying strikes would be the "Jenga piece that collapses the tower" of the health service.

He also claimed the NHS doomsday clock is at "one minute to midnight", adding he, and NHS staff, would be in a "terrifying position" if the strike goes ahead at a time when flu is causing "probably the worst pressure the NHS has faced since COVID".

The BMA has accused Streeting of "scaremongering", saying he has been acting in a “cruel and calculated” way and describing the government's offer as "poor".

When is the strike?

Resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, who are members of the BMA, will stage a five-day strike in England from 7am on Wednesday, 17 December to 7am on Monday, 22 December.

It is part of an ongoing dispute over pay and jobs and will be the 14th strike by the union since March 2023.

Doctors have gone on strike over a dozen times in recent years. (PA)

How bad is the 'superflu' outbreak?

The UK is currently in the middle of a major flu outbreak, with recent figures showing the number of people in hospital in England with flu jumped 55% in a week.

Streeting said "there is a tidal wave of flu tearing through our hospitals" as an average 2,660 flu patients were in hospital each day last week, up from 1,717 the previous week.

Flu hospital admissions in England. (PA)

At this point last year, the number stood at 1,861 patients, while in 2023 it was just 402.

Some hospitals across the country have asked staff, patients and visitors to wear face masks to cut the spread of flu, while others have gone in and out of critical incident status due to the high number of people attending A&E.

Part of the problem is that the predominant strain of flu circulating this winter is different from those in previous years.

According to the UK Health Security Agency, the drifted H3N2 strain is dominant, which means there is "less natural immunity in the community".

"H3N2 flu strains typically affect older adults more severely than H1N1 strains, leading to more hospitalisations and deaths, creating further pressure on our NHS this winter."

Professor Meghana Pandit, NHS national medical director, warned the "unprecedented wave of superflu is leaving the NHS facing a worst-case scenario for this time of year" and there was no peak in sight.

What is the BMA being offered?

The BMA said the government's offer includes concessions "aimed at tackling the continuing shortage of training places for resident doctors in England".

The government has pledged to introduce legislation to prioritise UK medical graduates for training places from next year, increase the number of specialty training posts from 1,000 to 4,000, and cover the cost of exam fees.

The government has insisted that a further pay increase - the reason why the BMA called the strikes earlier this month - is off the negotiating table after resident doctors received pay rises totalling nearly 30% in the past three years.

The BMA says real-terms pay has declined by about 20% over the last 17 years.

Polling suggests public support for strikes is low, with a new YouGov survey showing 58% of respondents oppose the industrial action, while 33% support it.

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