“The ‘super flu’ epidemic sweeping the country means this is the NHS’s most precarious moment since the pandemic,” Starmer wrote in The Guardian, referring to the National Health Service.

The resident doctors’ strikes planned just before Christmas “should not happen. They are reckless. They place the NHS—and the patients who depend on it—in grave danger,” he added. NHS figures published on Thursday showed flu cases at a record level for this time of year.

The number of cases jumped by 55 percent in a single week, to an average of 2,660 patients hospitalized each day last week. “With record demand … and an impending resident (junior) doctors’ strike, this unprecedented wave of super flu is leaving the NHS facing a worst-case scenario for this time of year,” said NHS National Medical Director Meghana Pandit.

Health Minister Wes Streeting told The Times that the numbers could triple before reaching their peak and said the situation in hospitals was already “inexcusable.” The functioning of the NHS remains a major political issue in Britain, with Starmer’s embattled Labour government under pressure to reduce waiting times. If it goes ahead, the planned strike from Wednesday will be the 14th walkout by medics since March 2023. Efforts to reduce patient waiting lists have been hampered in part by repeated industrial action by both resident doctors and consultants. (Bssnews)