HEALTH SECRETARY Wes Streeting has been accused of “cruel and calculated” scaremongering after claiming doctor strikes could collapse the NHS as its grapples with a flu outbreak.

Resident doctors in England will walk out for five days on Wednesday unless they vote to accept the government’s latest offer in a poll that closes tomorrow.

British Medical Association’s (BMA) resident doctors committee chairman Dr Jack Fletcher on Saturday said: “It is horrible for anyone to be suffering with flu, we are not diminishing the impact of that, but Mr Streeting should not be scaremongering the public into thinking that the NHS will not be able to look after them and their loved ones.”

He slammed Mr Streeting for “laying the blame for the failings of the NHS to cope with an outbreak of flu at the feet of resident doctors and yet he is strangely reluctant to turn that concern into action and come to the negotiating table.

“What is cruel and calculated is the way in which the Health Secretary fails to have any engagement with us outside strikes and then comes to us with an offer he knows is poor and expects us to just accept it within 24 hours.”

BMA council chairman Dr Tom Dolphin has written to NHS trust leaders asking them to prioritise the safety of urgent care “given the recent claims and comments” made by Mr Streeting.

He warned that derogations, whereby resident doctors cross the picket line to work for a limited period, will not be granted “if planning has not occurred to incentivise or redeploy non-striking doctors to cover emergency work, or if non-emergency work is continuing that would release suitable staff to cover.”

The BMA has long been calling for real-terms pay restoration following a 20 per cent reduction over the last 17 years, as well as action to tackle the major lack of specialist training places for medics.

Ministers have refused to discuss a further pay increase, claiming rises over the past three years amount to nearly 30 per cent.

These are largely wiped out due to inflation.

Mr Streeting’s latest offer includes legislation to prioritise British medical graduates for training places from 2026 and cover the cost of exam fees, as well as the chance for strikes to be deferred until after Christmas.