Action on 25 and 26 November suspended to allow for formal negotations with the government
Senior hospital doctors in England have called off the 48-hour strike they intended to hold later this month after the health secretary agreed to negotiations about their grievances.
NHS chiefs, who were worried about how hospitals would cope during the action, welcomed the decision by consultants to “pause” their walkout, which was scheduled for 25 and 26 November.
The action was announced by the British Medical Association (BMA) when 18 months of talks with the government failed to lead to agreement on key issues.
The issues included a 25% fall in the real-terms value of salaries since 2009-10 and a requested 10% cut in working hours. The consultants voted in July to take industrial action.
The strike would have resulted in consultants carrying out emergency care only, which would probably have led to delays for most routine and elective services.
The decision to halt the strike follows meetings in recent weeks between Yvette Cooper, the health secretary, and the leaders of the BMA’s consultants committee after the latter called the stoppage last month.
The pause was welcomed by Cooper, who said she had held “constructive” talks with the BMA’s consultants committee.
But it is unclear how much progress the negotiations will make as Cooper is refusing to talk about pay – one of the consultants’ key demands.
“We welcome the opportunity to enter formal negotiations with the government and hope this marks a turning point in a dispute that has gone on for too long”, said Dr Helen Neary and Dr Shanu Dattu, the co-chairs of the BMA’s consultants committee.
“We’ve always said strikes do not need to go ahead as long as the government is willing to genuinely negotiate, and now is their chance to do so.
“We have received assurances that there are no constraints on what we discuss in these negotiations, and we look forward to hearing their proposals on both pay and working conditions.”
Although consultants were given a 3.5% increase this year, the BMA said pay had fallen by a quarter over the past 17 years in real terms.
However, the Department of Health and Social Care made clear that the negotiations would not involve consultants getting any more than the 3.5% pay rise they have already received for 2026/27.
The committee wants to see “meaningful progress on the 25% real-terms pay cuts consultants have experienced over the last 17 years, alongside increasingly unsustainable workloads and worsening working conditions”, the BMA stressed. Negotiations are due to start next week.
Neary and Datta reiterated the BMA’s readiness to call consultants out on strike unless they received “a deal that recognises our value”.
The BMA said the proposed strike action was also about “ensuring consultants have the time, recognition and support they need to deliver the best possible care for patients and secure the future of the NHS, while not driving themselves to burnout”.
Cooper said: “The BMA consultants committee’s decision to call off planned strike action is welcome news for patients and the wider NHS, avoiding disruption to care and allowing NHS staff to focus on delivering services and preparing for a challenging winter.
“I had a constructive discussion with the BMA consultants committee on reforms that could give consultants a stronger voice, greater flexibility and more freedom to innovate, while improving services for patients. We are committed to taking that work forward together in the weeks ahead.”
Cooper did not mention the BMA’s demand for action on addressing the 25% erosion in the value of their salaries.
DHSC sources stressed that “the government’s mandate for negotiations does not allow for increases in pay for consultants in this financial year.
“The secretary of state has been clear that she cannot justify increased pay for some of the highest earners at the expense of patient care, when everyone across the country is struggling with the cost of living.”
Consultants in England typically earn £152,000 a year after overtime and merit awards are included in their earnings. That figure has risen by about £25,000 since 2022.
The BMA’s decision to call off the strikes is “welcome news to NHS leaders” and “a positive step” towards an agreement, said Ciarán Devane, the chief executive of the NHS Alliance, which represents England’s 205 NHS trusts.
Devane had previously warned that the strike would force hospitals to postpone and rearrange operations and outpatient appointments that were due to take place on 25 and 26 November.
