Further strike announcement is an inflammatory act by the BMA

Responding to the announcement by the British Medical Association (BMA) of new strike dates for resident doctors, the chief executive of NHS Providers, Daniel Elkeles, said:

"This is an inflammatory act by the BMA.

"Everyone knows in the run-up to Christmas we need all hands on deck.

"It’s really important to be able to discharge as many patients as possible so that where appropriate they can be at home with their loved ones.

"We need to ensure there’s the hospital capacity too to deal with the additional demand that always comes at this time of year.

"That’s going to be even more challenging now.

"It’s totally unfair to patients and to other staff working for the NHS.

"Both sides need to get back round the table to break the logjam."