A super flu epidemic is sweeping the country. Let us come together to protect the institution we all love

• Keir Starmer is the British prime minister

I am a Labour prime minister who believes in workers’ right to strike. But let’s be clear about the strikes planned by resident doctors next week. They should not happen. They are reckless. They place the NHS and patients who need it in grave danger.

I remain hopeful they can be averted. A good deal is on the table, and the British Medical Association (BMA) is putting it to members this weekend. My message to the doctors is simple – take it.

Keir Starmer is the prime minister of the United Kingdom

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© Photograph: Jeff Moore/PA

© Photograph: Jeff Moore/PA

© Photograph: Jeff Moore/PA

Aamir Ahmed, Dr Graham Simpson, Adrian Bell and David Gollancz respond to a letter by a reader whose husband died of the disease after delaying getting a PSA test

It is understandable for patients suffering from a late diagnosis of prostate cancer, or families who have lost loved ones, to demand that something should be done (Letters, 5 December). I, however, respect the UK National Screening Committee’s recommendation not to screen most men using the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test.

The job of the committee was to weigh up the benefits and harms of any available test for routine screening. PSA testing, as a first step to diagnose cancer, results in false negatives and a significant number of false positives, meaning it has both low sensitivity and low specificity, making it a poor screening marker. PSA screening has been conducted in the US; there are varying estimates that, over three decades, it has resulted in more than 1 million patients receiving treatment (eg surgery or radiotherapy) they did not need.

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© Photograph: Phanie/Sipa Press/Alamy

© Photograph: Phanie/Sipa Press/Alamy

© Photograph: Phanie/Sipa Press/Alamy

As corridor care has become the norm, safest option for those with flu symptoms is to contact GP or NHS 111 and try to stay home

As cases of flu rise sharply across the UK, the Guardian spoke to Amir Hassan, an emergency medicine consultant and the divisional medical director at Epsom and St Helier University hospitals NHS trust, who shared his views.

“We’re seeing increased numbers of patients coming through, a lot of them with respiratory-type illnesses. It means we need to try to isolate these patients and treat them – so they’ll come in with shortness of breath, [and a] cough.

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© Photograph: Jeff Moore/PA

© Photograph: Jeff Moore/PA

© Photograph: Jeff Moore/PA

BMA puts health secretary’s offer, which includes pledge to double number of extra training places, to resident doctors

Wes Streeting has made an improved offer to end the long-running dispute with resident doctors before their strike next week that threatens to bring chaos to the NHS as it battles a flu surge.

The health secretary has pledged to double the number of extra places that early career doctors in England can apply for in order to train in the area of medicine they have chosen to specialise in.

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© Photograph: Adam Vaughan/EPA

© Photograph: Adam Vaughan/EPA

© Photograph: Adam Vaughan/EPA

They face long hours, mediocre pay and, at worst, no job, but their optimism is astonishing – let’s support them better

• Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh

When I mentioned to colleagues in the NHS that I was helping with admissions interviews for medical students, several responded with the same wry smile and weary shrug: “Do they know what they’re getting into?” Anyone working with the health service over the past few decades has seen the job conditions get tougher, salaries stagnate and idealism erode within a crumbling system. Brexit, Covid, austerity and the rise in the cost of living haven’t helped.

From the students’ perspectives, they’ve gone through a lot to get here too. Not just the usual high-level academic performance and résumé-building either. This is a group who dealt with school closures and lockdowns during impressionable years, many come from crowded schools with little support and coaching, and yet they’ve found a way to persevere.

Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh

Fit Forever: Wellness for midlife and beyond: On Wednesday 28 January 2026, join Annie Kelly, Devi Sridhar, Joel Snape and Mariella Frostrup, as they discuss how to enjoy longer and healthier lives, with expert advice and practical tips. Book tickets here or at guardian.live

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© Photograph: Gary Calton/The Observer

© Photograph: Gary Calton/The Observer

© Photograph: Gary Calton/The Observer

Wes Streeting’s plan to make booking easier made sense. Then I encountered an AI triagist, a stubborn receptionist and a Kafkaesque vicious circle

A couple of months ago the health secretary, Wes Streeting, rolled out his latest master plan to save the NHS. From 1 October, it became compulsory for all GP practices in England to offer the online option for patients to request non-urgent appointments or medical advice throughout core working hours (8am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday).

The doctors’ union might not have much liked it, but it made sense to regular punters like me. It seemed like a common sense means of avoiding the maddening early morning scramble for the few available appointments, hanging on for an age, only to be told all the slots have gone. Or worse, just have the phone go dead on you.

Simon Hattenstone is a features writer for the Guardian

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© Photograph: Burger/Phanie/REX

© Photograph: Burger/Phanie/REX

© Photograph: Burger/Phanie/REX

Financial and social incentives can nudge doctors away from the operating room.

© Lauren Petracca for The New York Times