Health Secretary Wes Streeting has warned that a combination of rising flu admissions and planned strikes by resident doctors could push the NHS to breaking point over Christmas, describing the situation as the most severe challenge since the Covid pandemic.
Streeting urged resident doctors to accept the government’s latest offer and call off their scheduled industrial action, warning that further disruption could have catastrophic consequences for patient care.
He said: “The whole NHS team is working around the clock to keep the show on the road. But it’s an incredibly precarious situation. Christmas strikes could be the Jenga piece that collapses the tower. That’s why I am appealing directly to resident doctors to accept the government’s offer.”
NHS England figures released on Thursday show flu hospitalisations rose by 55% in a single week, reaching an average of 2,660 patients per day—a record high for early winter. Officials fear that the number of patients could triple as the season peaks.
Resident doctors are due to strike from 17 to 22 December, although the British Medical Association (BMA) is currently consulting members on a revised government offer that could avert the walkout.
Writing in The Times, Streeting described the conditions in some hospitals as “inexcusable,” warning that the winter surge could intensify sharply.
Despite the dramatic rise in flu admissions, some NHS leaders urged caution over claims of imminent collapse.
Dr Chris Streather, regional medical director at NHS England, said current pressures were “pretty bad” but still “nothing like the scale” of Covid.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The NHS is coping at the moment. The flu rates are still going up.”
Highlighting increased resilience since the pandemic, he added: “We increased the number of critical care or intensive care beds during that time, so we’re better prepared. And it’s a different scale from the situation we’re facing in March 2020.”
However, he emphasised the seriousness of the pressure, noting that 2,500 flu patients—equivalent to filling three major hospitals—were now in beds across England.
The BMA will survey members until Monday on whether the government’s new offer is sufficient to halt next week’s five-day strike. The proposal includes:
• Legislation giving UK-trained doctors priority for speciality training
• Increased training posts over three years, including 1,000 new places from 2026
• Funding of mandatory exams and royal college membership fees for resident doctors
Streeting expressed frustration that the union had not already postponed action, saying cancelling the strikes would have “given the NHS certainty this week, when it is firefighting the flu epidemic”.
He told LBC Radio that the prospect of NHS collapse was at “one minute to midnight”, adding: “Effectively, yeah.”
Streeting also said he had offered to extend the BMA’s strike mandate to February so industrial action could shift to January. He added: “I can only assume that the reason why they refuse to do that is because they know that this week will be most painful for the NHS.”
