Wes Streeting has accused the British Medical Association (BMA) of “impossibility” and spreading “misleading” information, leading to escalating tensions with the doctors' union.
In an unusual move, the health secretary addressed England's 50,000 GPs on Thursday to express their disappointment with the BMA over recent changes that have made it easier since last month patients to contact them online from 8:00 to 18:30 from Monday to Friday.
He underlined his concerns about the union's conduct by ending his long-standing role as sole negotiator of the annual GP contract, which covers doctors' pay and working conditions.
Streeting's letter was prompted by a recent speech by the head of the BMA's GP committee, Dr Katie Bramall, in which she accused ministers of being “traitors” their profession, as well as betrayal and lies to them.
In it, he referred to a speech that Bramall gave on November 7 at the annual conference of local medical committees – local groups GPS – in England. She “accused the government of 'betraying' the profession, of 'insincerity', 'duplicity' and 'gaslighting',” Streeting wrote.
“This speech was not only deeply unprofessional and inappropriate for a professional representative body, it was misleading,” he added. “The BMA has agreed these changes in the contract. [on online access to GPs] in February 2025, and any suggestion to the contrary is factually incorrect.”
He said the BMA was not showing “mutual respect and professionalism” in its dealings with the government. “Your union representatives are currently preventing me and my officials from working in good faith the way we all want.”
Relations between Streeting and the BMA are becoming increasingly strained, mainly due to long series of strikes resident doctors (formerly junior doctors) due to their salaries and difficulties in obtaining places to begin training in their chosen medical specialty.
The union's Resident Doctors Committee (RDC) is weighing whether to stage another strike, the 14th since March 2023, before Christmas as the legal strike mandate expires on 6 January.
Streeting said BMA agreed to expand patient digital access to GPs during this year's contract negotiations, which were awarded in February. However, the union claims it is guilty of “breaking promises” and failing to take action to prevent already busy GP practices being “overburdened” by patients submitting requests for help online.
Responding to Streeting's letter, Bramall said a recent BMA study found that 42% of more than 1,300 practices that responded had been forced to reduce the number of face-to-face appointments they offered because GPs were so busy with online communications.
“Fewer visits and disruption to practices is not a win for patients or the profession,” she said.
Separately, Dr Tom Dolphin, Chairman of the BMA Councilcriticized the Health Minister for making public his letter about reducing the union's role in drawing up the GP contract.
“We would have preferred for the health minister to engage with the BMA privately and directly to push for de-escalation rather than through the media. Governments do not have the right to choose their negotiating partners and should not do so,” he said.
Streeting will consult with other organizations including the Royal College of General Practitioners and National Health Service The Confederation has weakened the BMA's role in its negotiations for the GP contract for 2026-2027.
NHS England chief Sir Jim McKee has called on the BMA to end the “doomed cycle” of strikes by local doctors, especially in winter when the NHS is under intense pressure.
The NHS and ministers are struggling to end the standoff, which the BMA says has left 20,000 doctors unemployed and unable to advance their careers to places on specialist training courses, he said in a letter to the RDC about the issue.
Each strike forces the NHS to prioritize safety during the action and costs £250 million, McKee said. “Let's do everything we can to prevent strikes in the winter, when our patients really count on us to be there for them,” he said.
