Senior doctors in England are planning strike action for two days next month, the British Medical Association (BMA) has said.
Consultants will walk out on November 25 and 26 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.
Ms Cooper described the announcement as “very disappointing” and said the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England “have been in constructive discussions” with the union.
She added that taking industrial action as the NHS prepares for winter would be “irresponsible”.
Health leaders also warned that a strike will disrupt patient appointments and surgeries while “severely hitting” NHS finances following a “gruelling summer”.
Emergency cover will continue during the strike, similar to how hospitals are staffed on Christmas day.
Consultants in England last went on strike in 2023 but have been in dispute with the Government since last year.
The planned walkout comes after members of the BMA voted in favour of a mandate for industrial action in July.
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.”
The committee has been in talks with the Government regarding measures to tackle burnout and keep consultants in the NHS.
This includes more protected time to focus on teaching the next generation of medics, cutting standard hours to bring consultants in line with other NHS staff and better recognition for the most demanding out-of-hours work.
According to the Government, cutting consultants’ working week by five hours would cost between £2 billion and £3 billion.
Health Secretary Yvette Cooper described the announcement as ‘disappointing’ (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
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The BMA claims that consultant pay in Ireland can be as much as double that in England.
The announcement comes a week after the Government recommended a 2.4% pay rise for doctors for the 2027/28 financial year in evidence submitted to the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration.
The committee co-chairs added: “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.”
Ms 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.”
Sir Ciaran Devane, chief executive of the NHS Alliance, said: “NHS leaders will be both astonished and dismayed by the BMA’s decision to proceed with walk outs by consultants at a time when plans to restore waiting time targets hang by a thread and as teams make wider preparations for winter after a gruelling summer.
“Any decision to down tools risks throwing these plans further off course and will once again disrupt patient care while severely hitting NHS finances.
“A consultant walk out will result in non-urgent outpatient appointments, elective surgeries, and follow-ups being postponed or rescheduled.
“While this is needed in the interests of patient safety it will potentially leave patients in unnecessary pain, discomfort, and inconvenience.”