The Health Secretary's words echoed those of NHS chief Sir Jim Mackey, who has written to NHS trusts saying they should cancel as few operations as possible to combat the long delays already faced by many patients
The Health Secretary told LBC that bosses must do "everything we can to keep this show on the road" ahead of the five-day strike, which starts on Friday.
His words echo those of NHS chief Sir Jim Mackey, who has written to NHS trusts saying they should cancel as few operations as possible to combat the long delays already faced by many patients.
He told hospitals to maintain planned care “to the fullest extent possible – with at least 95 per cent of elective activity continuing compared with what would otherwise have been expected”.
Describing Sir Jim as an "excellent leader", Mr Streeting admitted "it was not going to be easy" to meet his targets.
"I'm not saying the target will be met. It's a challenging target, but we've got to do everything we can to keep this show on the road," he told Nick Ferrari at Breakfast.
Friday's industrial action by the The British Medical Association (BMA) will be the 13th resident doctor walkout since March 2023 amid a long-running pay dispute.
Health bosses fear the strikes will coincide with Britain's worst flu season, with hospital admissions for flu the highest yet for this time year, rising by 60 per cent in one week.
Mr Streeting slammed the BMA for being "irresponsible", adding: "They have had a 28.9 per cent pay rise and I have offered to cancel their various exam fees and portfolios. I have also offered to create an extra 1,000 training places for them this year.
"They have done very well out of this government. I'm asking them to work with us, rather than expect us to be able to solve all problems for everyone, everywhere."
His comments were criticised by Hope Worsdale, of patient-led campaigning group Just Treatment, who said the minister was trying to "shift the blame onto the people working tirelessly to save lives".
"NHS staffing is a mess and it has a huge impact on patient care – and it is the government's responsibility to fix this.
"We have always been clear that NHS patient safety and staff pay and conditions cannot be separated. Right now the resident doctor workforce is facing two huge challenges – pay which has been eroded far below inflation for years, alongside a critical lack of available specialty positions.
"Last year 30,000 newly qualified doctors applied for just 10,000 posts. Meanwhile, existing doctors in the NHS are leaving in record numbers because they are not being valued properly.
"Solutions exist, but Wes Streeting has so far refused to pursue them, so it is pretty rich for him to be describing the doctors who care for patients every day as 'irresponsible'.
"Both patients and health workers across the NHS are unhappy, and crying out for the proper investment that is needed to tackle the crisis in the NHS. It's time the government actually listened."
Sir Jim has asked trusts to maintain a “laser focus” on patient safety, maintaining services during and after the latest strikes.
His calls to keep routine operations and appointments going if possible during the last set of strikes infuriated the BMA, which said it would stretch safe staffing “far too thinly”.
Local unions and hospitals must agree what level of cover is safe before every strike, meaning some striking doctors will be compelled to work.
For this round of walkouts, trusts have been told to maintain priority treatments, including cancer care and urgent surgery.
Hospitals are also being urged by Sir Jim not to pay “extortionate” senior doctor rates set by the British Medical Association (BMA), with any “incentivised pay rates” falling within normal ranges.
In response, Dr Tom Dolphin, the BMA’s council chairman, said on Tuesday: "It’s unfortunate that NHS England would once again risk patient safety by instructing trusts to continue the full volume of elective procedures during industrial action.
"If trusts genuinely believe they can provide adequate safety cover to maintain elective activity at the level NHS England is demanding, despite significant numbers of staff being absent, that is their decision. However, they must remember that patient safety must always be the priority.
“In the last round of action, we received a large number of requests to be exempted from strikes from a handful of trusts who hadn’t planned appropriately despite plenty of warning. This was deeply disappointing from senior managers who should be focusing on safety and not political targets.”
