Voices: ‘Doctors are not self-indulgent’: Readers on NHS strike action as flu cases rise

The government made the BMA a last-minute offer on Wednesday - (Danny Lawson/PA)

Independent readers are split after resident doctors voted to press ahead with a five-day strike just before Christmas, prompting a furious response from health secretary Wes Streeting, who branded the action “self-indulgent” and “dangerous”.

Many in our community criticised the timing, arguing that striking during peak winter pressures and record flu admissions risks harming patients and eroding public trust. For these readers, doctors should have waited until January to maximise leverage without endangering care, with some questioning whether the right to strike should apply in such circumstances.