Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces PMQs as English doctors begin five-day strike

Keir Starmer is set to face Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday as doctors in England begin a five-day walkout.

NHS services in Scotland are devolved, and the strikes will only affect healthcare in England.

The UK Health secretary apologised to patients south of the border on Wednesday as healthcare leaders warned the impact of the strike would be “felt all the way into January and beyond”.

Wes Streeting said the UK Government did “everything we could” to avoid the strike, including holding 11th-hour talks with British Medical Association (BMA) officials on Tuesday.

Up to half of the medical workforce in England could stop work at 7am on Wednesday and not return for five days as resident doctors stage industrial action over pay and jobs.

Hopes that the strike could be averted at the last minute were dashed on Monday when members of the BMA rejected a fresh offer from the Government.

Ministers have accused the union of staging the strike at a time that would “inflict as much damage as they can” on the NHS amid rising levels of flu in hospitals.

It comes amid warnings of a “super flu” sweeping the nation, with flu cases in hospitals in England at a record level for this time of year.

After meeting with health leaders on Wednesday morning, Streeting added: “Our entire focus now is on keeping patients safe, particularly over the next five days of strike action, but also through what is the peak period for the NHS.

“We are doing everything we can to minimise the disruption. There is going to be disruption.”

Elsewhere hospital leaders have called for resident doctors and the Government to start talks with external mediators, saying the dispute has reached an “impasse”.

The Prime Minister is likely to be questioned over his Government’s failure to strike a deal with doctors and his management of NHS services.