NHS CONSULTANTS PLAN TWO-DAY STRIKE IN ENGLAND

The British Medical Association (BMA) says NHS consultants in England will strike on 25 and 26 November over pay and working conditions. The union expects thousands of senior doctors to walk out. Its leaders said the Government had “ignored concerns around consultants wellbeing and workload”. The BMA says consultants have suffered a 25 per cent real-terms pay cut over 17 years. It is also seeking a 35-hour working week.

Consultants earn about £150,000 a year on average, according to figures cited in the dispute. Their basic starting pay has risen by roughly 28.5 per cent over the past four years. Health officials estimate that the BMA’s proposed five-hour reduction in the working week would cost taxpayers more than £2 billion. They also say it would reduce time spent treating patients and increase waiting times. Health Secretary Yvette Cooper said her department and NHS England had held “constructive discussions” with the union.

Emergency cover will continue during the strikes, with hospitals planning staffing arrangements similar to Christmas Day. Consultants last struck in England between July and October 2023, including twice alongside resident doctors. Cooper called the new strike announcement “very disappointing” and said industrial action as the NHS prepares for winter would be “irresponsible”. BMA consultants committee co-chairs Dr Helen Neary and Dr Shanu Datta said consultants provide care, run services and train other doctors. They said: “Solving the pressures facing the health service will be impossible without valuing and retaining these doctors.”