Trying to Manage Hospital Services During Strikes ‘Takes a Massive Toll’ Says CEO

Published on: 18 Dec, 2025
Updated on: 20 Dec, 2025

Louise Stead, CEO RSCH and St Peter’s Hospital Group

By Martin Giles

Updated with statistics, see graphics below…

Louise Stead, chief executive officer for the Royal Surrey and St Peter’s Hospital (Chertsey) group, was interviewed this morning on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme about the impact of the Resident Doctors’ strike.

Strike action has been taken because of dissatisfaction about staffing job opportunities and pay levels.

Ms Stead was asked about the BMA accusation that the Health Secretary was scaremongering over the rising levels of flu and whether it had been over egged.

She said: “I don’t think it’s been over egged… Even last week, when we talked and looked at the numbers, there seemed to be huge, a huge rise.

“I think we’ve seen that plateau off actually, in the last week, the two hospitals, two main hospital sites I run, have probably got about a ward of patients, each with flu, Covid and respiratory viruses. But, I think you have to react to what the science tells you. So it looked like there could be a massive, massive peak that looks like it’s slightly come down now.”

Resident doctors started their strike action this morning. BBC photo

Asked about the impact of the strike she said the hospitals were on track “to deliver about 95per cent of what we what we [normally] hope to do. The Royal Surrey is a big Cancer Centre. We haven’t delayed any of our big cancer surgery that is happening today, because we do know that will have real knock on effects for life expectancy for patients.”

RSCH Flu Figs Dec 2025 can be compared with figs for England below. BBC Graphic

England Flu Figs Dec 2025 BBC Graphic

The CEO said hospitals were getting better at managing the consequences of strike action before adding: “But let’s just be really, really clear, you can’t keep doing this… trying to manage like this for five days takes a massive, massive toll.

“And we’ve got, you know, everybody consultants working night shifts that they haven’t worked in in years, and trying to get to terms with electronic patient records and all the things that resident doctors do every day hospital smooth running and your ability to cope for the next five days.

Here the full interview with Louise Stead here:

Resident doctors in England voted overwhelmingly to reject the Government’s proposed offer on jobs by 83 per cent to 17 per cent to carry on with strike action which started at 7am today (December 17) and is scheduled to end at 7am on Monday, December 22.

On the BMA’s website the resident doctors committee (RDC) chair Dr Jack Fletcher says: “Our members have considered the Government’s offer, and their resounding response should leave the Health Secretary in no doubt about how badly he has just fumbled his opportunity to end industrial action. Tens of thousands of frontline doctors have come together to say ‘no’ to what is clearly too little, too late.

“There are no new jobs in this offer – he has simply cannibalised those jobs which already existed for the sake of ‘new’ jobs on paper. Neither was there anything on what Mr Streeting has said is a journey to restoring our pay – that has clearly hit the buffers.

“This week’s strike is still entirely avoidable – the Health Secretary should now work with us in the short time we have left to come up with a credible offer to end this jobs crisis and avert the real terms pay cuts he is pushing in 2026. We’re willing to work to find a solution if he is.

“We remain committed to ensuring patient safety, as we have done with all previous rounds of strike action, and urge hospital trusts to continue planning to ensure safe staffing. We will be in close contact with NHS England throughout the strikes to address safety concerns if they arise.”