On Tuesday, Number 10 refused to deny that Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, was concerned that patients would die during the strikes.
Mr Sunak’s official spokesman said it would not be helpful to “speculate”, adding: “I think our focus now is on mitigating any potential damaging impact these strikes could have.”
It comes as the country braces for a month of strike action up to 100,000 nurses walk away on December 15 and 20.
Christmas travelers can expect chaos after Mick Lynch, the RMT’s general secretary, confirmed talks had been cut off before a deadline to avoid breakdown next week. Trade union actions on the railway network are planned for December 13, 14, 16, 17 and 24-27.
People going abroad for a festive break face one fifth of holiday flights are cancelled as Border Force personnel prepare for a strike from December 21. Public and Commercial Services union bosses will announce strike dates on Wednesday for 15,000 Border Force, passport and visa workers over Christmas.
The government has deployed 600 military personnel and hundreds of civil servants on standby to be sent to airports and ports to plug holes left by striking workers.
However, industry chiefs warned that even with military and Whitehall reinforcements, flights may need to be canceled to avoid unsafe queues at airports.
“We may need to reduce demand in ports and airports to 70 to 80 percent of normal levels,” said a leading aviation source.
On Tuesday night, Nadhim Zahawi, the chairman of the Conservative Party, accused Sir Keir Starmer, the Labor leader, of being “spineless” for refusing to criticize strikes.