Senior doctors in England plan to go on strike for two days in November, the British Medical Association (BMA) has announced.
The consultants committee has announced strikes for 25 and 26 November for consultants after the union accused the government of “ignoring concerns” around the “wellbeing and workload” of medics.
The strike can be avoided if health secretary Yvette Cooper commits to formal negotiations on pay and working conditions, the BMA said.
Emergency cover will continue during the strike, similar to how hospitals are staffed on Christmas day.
The government had recommended a 2.4 per cent pay rise for doctors for the 2027/28 financial year as the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England previously told the independent doctors’ pay review body it could plan the uplift “without having to make tradeoffs against headline government health commitments”.
Yet BMA argues that the pay increase falls short due to rising inflation and increasing demands on the NHS.
The planned walkout comes after members of the BMA voted in favour of a mandate for industrial action in July.
Downing Street said the decision of senior doctors to take strike action is “hugely disappointing”, urging them to “call off irresponsible action which would put even greater pressure on our health service”.
“It’s obviously hugely disappointing seeing the BMA’s consultants committee moving to strike action rather than continuing the ongoing dialogue we’ve had”, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said.
The official added: “We urge the BMA to work with us not against us in our efforts to support staff and patients and we call on them to accept that offer and call off irresponsible action which would put even greater pressure on our health service at a difficult time."
Dr Helen Neary and Dr Shanu Datta, co-chairs of the BMA’s consultants committee, said: “As the most senior and skilled doctors in the NHS, consultants not only provide frontline, life-saving care, but they are central to running and designing services, training and supervising the future workforce, and ensuring patients get the best treatment possible.
“Solving the pressures facing the health service will be impossible without valuing and retaining these doctors. Yet the government is failing to recognise this, ignoring our concerns around consultants’ wellbeing and workload, and pushing them further away from the NHS.
“And as the much-lauded progress on waiting lists in England stalls, the government is also telling consultants they deserve another pay cut.
“Since we entered into dispute over 18 months ago, we have engaged in good faith with the government, proposing practical solutions, but time and time again ministers have kicked the can down the road. Unfortunately, that road has now run out and we have been forced to announce strikes.
“Consultants take their responsibilities incredibly seriously, and striking does not come naturally, but we are hearing loud and clear from the profession that they have had enough.
“Not only is our pay still a quarter down in real terms on what it was 17 years ago, having fallen more steeply than the rest of the economy, but we are also not being given time to dedicate our all to the NHS and patients, with quality and improvement being traded for the treadmill of target-chasing, driving colleagues to burnout through excessive workloads.
“The government has four weeks to avoid any action taking place. We look forward to hearing from the secretary of state on areas that we can work on together to prevent these strikes, end the dispute and restore the role of the consultant in the NHS so that patients can benefit from the best clinical leaders long into the future.”
Health and social care secretary Yvette Cooper said: “The government is working with staff across the NHS to prepare for winter, improve care for patients and make our health service better for the whole workforce.
“NHS England and the department have been in constructive discussions with the BMA, so it is very disappointing to see the BMA committee choosing this response rather than continuing with that dialogue.
“With colleagues across the NHS, I am determined to support staff and patients through the tough winter period. I hope the BMA will stay united with us in that effort, and not take irresponsible action that would place our health service under even greater pressure at this crucial time.”
Consultants in England last went on strike in 2023 but have been in dispute with the government since last year.
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