The Latest Breaking News from NHS

If not, academics say people will continue to get sick and die while schools close and hospitals are overwhelmed

YOUR VIEWS: Our community is divided over resident doctors’ pre-Christmas strike, with some condemning its timing amid record flu cases as dangerous and self-indulgent, while others defend it as a justified response to years of pay erosion and NHS underfunding.

Junior doctors in England announce the longest strike this year. Read about the 6-day walkout, the impact on patients, and the ongoing pay dispute.

Healthwatch England reveals Brits resorting to pulling out own teeth as NHS urgent dental access falters. With fewer regular check-ups and growing inequalities, government pledges extra appointments but faces calls for deeper reforms.

Up to half of the medical workforce in England could stop work at 7am on Wednesday and not return for five days.

It comes as a report suggests dental vouchers worth £150 a year should be introduced in a bid to ‘end the postcode lottery’ of care.

Shailesh Vara is former Conservative Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and the UK’s first Hindu MP

Having the jab could be the ‘one of the greatest Christmas gift’ if it means not passing flu to a loved one, says top nurse Karen Bonner

Demands for oversight grow after inquiry calls sector an ‘unregulated free for all’ and families seek stronger safeguards

In his 46 years of service, Nick Hulme has seen the best and the worst of the NHS. He issues a stark warning about its future, says Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee

FIRST PERSON: As the NHS creaks under the strain of the superflu, Charlotte Cripps wasn’t even certain that her daughter’s foot operation would go ahead last week. But not only did she get treated as planned, but she was also given an unforgettable sleepover complete with gold glitter