‘Beyond belief’ that resident doctors could strike amid flu crisis, says Starmer

Keir Starmer has said it is “frankly beyond belief” that resident doctors would strike during the NHS’s worst moment since the pandemic, in remarks that risk inflaming tensions with medical staff.Writing for the Guardian, the prime minister made an outspoken attack on the strikes planned for 17-22 December for placing “the NHS and patients who need it in grave danger”.Starmer’s intervention comes a day after Wes Streeting argued the strikes could overwhelm the NHS, increasing pressure on resident doctors to accept his offer of more training places, but no extra money.The British Medical Association said the government “should not be scaremongering” and making the public think “that the NHS will not be able to look after them and their loved ones”.Dr Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA resident doctors committee, said ministers were “laying the blame for the failings of the NHS to cope with an outbreak of flu at the feet of resident doctors”

Almost dead? The GP will see you now | Brief letters

I sympathise with Simon Hattenstone (Tried using the new online GP booking system? I have – and it was almost as miserable as my chest infection, 10 December). Filled in the online form, requesting a face-to-face GP appointment, received an email offering a phone call with a pharmacist. Rang reception to explain that I needed to see a GP and she said she couldn’t make appointments – everything had to go through an online form. It seems you have to be almost dead before you can see a GP.Rachel PhippsDean, Oxfordshire Regarding the wild beaver spotted in Norfolk (‘No one knows where it came from’: first wild beaver spotted in Norfolk in 500 years, 7 December), obviously it’s come from Ambridge – that explains why there’s not been much coverage of the beavers since their release

Tell us: are you a young person from the UK who has recently moved abroad?

Young people are leaving the UK in high numbers and we’d like to find out more about the reasons why.Is it about finding a better salary abroad or concerns about rising costs and tax in the UK? How did you choose where to move? How have you found the experience?You can tell us your experience of moving abroad using this form.Please include as much detail as possible. Please include as much detail as possible. Please include as much detail as possible

As NHS braces for record flu cases, is the strain active in continental Europe too?

The NHS is bracing for one of its worst winters on record as a surge in flu cases puts pressure on GP surgeries, hospitals and ambulance services. The flu season is well under way in continental Europe, too, where the same flu strain active in the UK is emerging as the force behind a new wave of infections.In the northern hemisphere it normally runs from mid-November to mid-February, though it can start as early as October and run into May. Health officials call the start of the season when 10% of suspected cases test positive for flu. At the start of November, the figure in England was already at 11% compared with 3% at the same time last year

Tell us: how are you being affected by the rise in UK flu cases?

Flu cases rose 55% in one week in England this month, as the NHS braces for a “worst-case scenario” in the next fortnight as hospitals, GP surgeries and ambulances services come under intense strain.It comes as the British Medical Association has lined up strike action for resident doctors in England next week over concerns on pay.We want to hear from you.How are you affected by the rise in flu? Are you a patient who has become unwell, or have you changed your behaviour to try and avoid infection? Are you a healthcare worker dealing with the impact? What are your thoughts on the potential strike action?You can tell us about how the rise of flu cases is affecting you here.Please include as much detail as possible

‘He was struggling with his breath. I sat beside him and sang’: the choir who sing to people on their deathbeds

It’s a brisk November afternoon in the village of South Brent in Devon and, in a daffodil yellow cottage, two women are singing me lullabies. But these aren’t the sort of lullabies that parents sing to their children. They are songs written and sung for terminally ill people, to ease them towards what will hopefully be a peaceful and painless death.We are at the home of Nickie Aven, singer and leader of a Threshold Choir. Aven and her friend are giving me a glimpse of what happens when they sing for people receiving end-of-life care