Health secretary hits out at BMA's 'juvenile delinquency' over doctors' strikes

The health secretary has accused the British Medical Association of "juvenile delinquency" and behaving like "moaning minnies" after the union announced that resident doctors will go on strike in the run-up to Christmas.

Wes Streeting told Mornings with Ridge and Frost he is fed up with the BMA after resident doctors - previously called junior doctors - will be taking industrial action from 17-25 December - their 14th strike since March 2023. He is pushing for more online GP appointments to stop the morning rush for one, and said the fact 98.7% of practices are now offering them should be a "really great news story".

The BMA's GP committee is opposing the move as they said patients would be put at risk if they cannot get through on the phone or in person. Mr Streeting said the BMA signed up to the move then backtracked and said GPs "deserve real credit" for a big increase in satisfaction ratings over the past year.

Politics latest: Who is behind Farage-Tory pact plot? He accused BMA leaders of "sitting in the corner like moaning minnies, when actually their members are doing a really good job working with the government to improve patient care and experience". He said: "Whether it's the rhetoric and the behaviour of the BMA around general practice, whether it is yet another round of unnecessary strike action being proposed by resident doctors who have had a 28.9% pay rise, we've seen an outbreak in the British Medical Association of juvenile delinquency, and it is irresponsible because we know that the NHS is under real pressure." The cabinet minister added: "The BMA is not only holding back the NHS's recovery and inflicting damage on patients, it's also self-defeating for their members who are having to work in these conditions." He urged the BMA to "work with us" as he said he and the government are in agreement with them over a "whole bunch of things.