Published: 24 July ‘2025. The English Chronicle Desk.
In a direct and urgent intervention ahead of a scheduled doctors’ strike, Professor Tim Briggs, the National Director for Clinical Improvement and Elective Recovery at NHS England, has strongly criticised the decision of resident doctors to proceed with industrial action from Friday, warning that the move could severely harm patients and reverse hard-won progress in NHS recovery.
During an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Professor Briggs expressed deep concern over the planned strike, asserting that while the right to protest must be respected, the moral and professional duty of doctors to safeguard patient welfare must always come first.
“As doctors, we are slightly different from other groups in that, yes, we have the right to strike, but we also have to make sure that we put the patient right at the centre of absolutely everything we do, and we must never harm patients,” he said. “This strike will harm patients, and for me, that is not acceptable.”
Professor Briggs went on to differentiate the core issues raised by junior doctors, suggesting that the dispute has shifted away from basic pay and now hinges on deeper, systemic frustrations within the profession. “When I speak to resident doctors, it’s not about the core pay. It’s about the non-pay, about their rotas of selection, the bottleneck and training, how they fund their courses, how they fund their exams and medical equipment.”
He further emphasised that the government has already demonstrated willingness to engage on those very issues. “There has been a commitment by the secretary of state and the government to look at that in a very sympathetic way because they believe they can help that and smooth that pathway. So I can’t understand how we are in this position from the BMA.”
The remarks reflect growing anxiety within NHS leadership as repeated waves of industrial action by medical professionals continue to place strain on a system already burdened by post-pandemic backlogs and workforce exhaustion. The British Medical Association (BMA), which represents many of the striking doctors, maintains that unresolved pay erosion and working conditions are at the heart of the unrest.
Professor Briggs, however, struck a more pragmatic tone, underscoring the progress the NHS has made despite its challenges. “If you look at the last 12 months, due to the hard work of all the 1.3 million NHS staff, we’ve started to make real inroads into elective recovery, and we must not lose that.”
He added that NHS staff will continue to provide essential emergency services and carry out as much elective care as possible during the strike period to mitigate disruption.
As both sides remain at an impasse, the looming industrial action raises pressing questions not only about the sustainability of the NHS workforce but also about the balance between labour rights and patient welfare in one of Britain’s most vital public services.
