NHS defends plan to not cancel non-urgent care if resident doctors strike

Resident doctors protesting outside Downing Street last summer. Up to 50,000 doctors in England are set to join the strike from 7am on Friday. Photograph: Jordan Pettitt/PA

The NHS has hit out at the doctors’ trade union for alleging that it is putting patient safety at risk by not cancelling planned treatment during a forthcoming strike.

NHS Providers, a membership organisation for NHS Trusts, says it is in fact the British Medical Association (BMA) putting patient safety at risk by staging a strike.