Strikes: BMA is urged to drop advice on not giving employers notice of walkouts as flu pressures mount

Medical leaders have urged the BMA to suspend advice stating that doctors do not need to tell their employer if they plan to strike.Ahead of next week’s five day walkout by resident doctors in England, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges also urged the BMA and ministers to “leave their ‘red lines’ at the door” and end their damaging industrial dispute, amid rising pressure on the NHS.The rare intervention from the academy, which represents the UK and Ireland’s 22 medical royal colleges, comes as NHS hospitals battle one of the most severe flu outbreaks in decades, raising fears that next week’s strike could put patient safety at risk.1Strikes are scheduled to take place from 7 am on 17 December to 7 am on 22 December. It will be the 14th walkout by resident doctors since March 2023 over