Senior doctors in England plan to go on strike for two days in November, the British Medical Association has said. The industrial action by consultants is to begin at 6.59am on 25 November, with only emergency cover to be provided. More than three-quarters of consultants who took part in the BMA ballot voted in favour of strike action.
The strike could be avoided if Yvette Cooper, the health secretary, committed to formal negotiations on pay and working conditions, the BMA said. The doctors were given a 3.5% pay increase this year. Consultants in England last went on strike in 2023 but have been in dispute with the government since last year.
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. Yet the government is failing to recognise this, ignoring our concerns around consultants’ wellbeing and workload, and pushing them further away from the NHS. Unfortunately, that road has now run out and we have been forced to announce strikes.
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.”
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