THE planned strike action by resident doctors is unnecessary and “completely unreasonable”, according to Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
He told GB News: “In previous rounds of strike action under this government, the NHS, its leadership and frontline staff have done a valiant job in keeping the show on the road. In fact, the last round of strikes, we managed to maintain 95% of planned care to cut waiting lists.
“So that was a remarkable achievement, and I’m hugely grateful. But in terms of this upcoming strike action, this is a different order of magnitude of risk. It is unnecessary.
“Resident doctors have had a 28.9% pay rise, the highest in the public sector, two years on the trot, and I suspect there aren’t many people watching this morning who had a 28.9% pay rise. So I think it’s completely unreasonable for the doctors to be threatening strike action. It’s also unnecessary.
“We want to work with them on things like increasing the number of jobs and training places and their working conditions. They’ve got a government that wants to work with them. It’s also irresponsible.
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“I mean, striking at any time is holding back the progress that we’ve otherwise been making in the NHS, but at this time of year, with all of the pressures we’re seeing, especially in urgent and emergency care, it is particularly irresponsible and self-serving, and that’s why I’ll do everything I can to avert strike action in the coming weeks, but I’m also preparing for the worst.”
Asked why the last pay settlement was made without any productivity agreement, he said: “I did that deal, so I thought it’s the right thing to do. I think that these are early career doctors who are feeling particular pressures in their careers and their lives, and I wanted to make progress as quickly as I could.
“I do think the BMA have been behaving generally like juvenile delinquents. And it’s not just on this. On general practice, we have rolled out online access to almost every GP practice in the country, 98.7%. You would think listening to the BMA that doctors are up in arms about this and absolutely furious, when actually they’ve embraced this and are working with us to do it, and this should be good news.
“The BMA are doing a real disservice to their members. They could be out there today saying we’re rolling out online access. Patient satisfaction has risen from 60% when we came into office to 75%, with access to general practice. That is a remarkable achievement in a relatively short space of time, and a real credit to GPs.
“Instead, the BMA are complaining about it, and I think doing a disservice to their members in the process. So lots done, but when you know, if 75% are satisfied, that means a quarter are not. I’d be the first to say, lots done, but also lots more to do. But GPs are working with us. I wish the BMA would follow their example.”
On a rebellion by Labour MPs on inheritance tax for farmers, Streeting said: “We’re keeping an eye on the situation with farmers, and that’s one of the reasons why, from the announcement last year for farmers, the Chancellor has already made some improvements to the package, which were broadly welcomed.
“But I know there’s a lot of anxiety about it, and what you’ve seen in Parliament is Labour MPs speaking up for their constituents in rural communities that we are proud to represent, and we will obviously continue to engage with the NFU and others. There is enormous investment going into farming as a result of decisions the government has taken.
“But you’re right. This is part of our not just the bread and butter of rural communities, this is part of our national fabric. This is part of our national resilience. And domestic food production and supply is really important from a national resilience and security perspective.
“We’re keeping all of those issues in mind as we’re making decisions. I’m sure this debate will rumble on and we will be actively engaged in it.”