Health Secretary Escalates Dispute with Doctors' Union
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has dramatically escalated his confrontation with the British Medical Association (BMA), describing the doctors' union as "impossible" and accusing it of spreading "misleading" information. The extraordinary public clash emerged after Streeting wrote directly to England's 50,000 GPs on Thursday, bypassing traditional communication channels.
Contract Changes Spark Heated Exchange
The immediate trigger for Streeting's intervention was a speech delivered by Dr Katie Bramall, head of the BMA's GP committee, on 7 November. In her address to the annual conference of local medical committees, Bramall reportedly accused the government of being "traitors" to the medical profession, employing "disingenuousness, duplicity and gaslighting" in their dealings with doctors.
Streeting fired back in his letter, stating: "This speech was not just deeply unprofessional and unbecoming of a professional representative body, it was misleading." He specifically contested claims about recent changes to GP access, asserting that the BMA had agreed to these modifications in February 2025, making online patient contact easier between 8am and 6.30pm on weekdays.
Broken Relationship and Wider Consequences
The health secretary took the significant step of ending the BMA's longstanding role as the sole negotiator for the annual GP contract, which governs doctors' pay, terms, and conditions. Streeting declared that the union's behaviour made it "impossible for me and my officials to engage in good faith."
This dispute occurs against the backdrop of ongoing industrial action by resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, who have staged 13 strikes since March 2023. The union's resident doctors committee is now considering a fourteenth walkout before Christmas, with their current strike mandate expiring on 6 January.
Responding to Streeting's allegations, Dr Bramall cited a BMA survey showing that 42% of over 1,300 practices have reduced face-to-face appointments due to increased workload from online communications. "Fewer appointments and practice meltdown isn't a win for patients or the profession," she argued.
Separately, Dr Tom Dolphin, the BMA's chair of council, criticised Streeting for making the dispute public, stating they would have preferred private communication to seek de-escalation.
The financial impact of the strikes continues to mount, with NHS England boss Sir Jim Mackey revealing that each industrial action costs £250 million and urging an end to the "doom loop" of strikes, particularly during the challenging winter period when the NHS faces intense pressure.
