NHS Consultants in England to Stage Two-Day Strike Over Pay and Workload

Senior hospital doctors in England are set to stage a two-day walkout next month following a breakdown in negotiations over pay, working hours, and workload sustainability.

The strike, called by the British Medical Association (BMA), will begin at 06:59 GMT on November 25th and run through November 26th. During the 48-hour period, consultants will provide "Christmas Day cover" only, staffing emergency and urgent care units while routine and elective appointments, non-urgent outpatient clinics, and planned surgeries are postponed.

The action follows a July ballot in which 76% of participating BMA consultants voted in favor of industrial action, citing an 18-month dispute over real-terms pay erosion, which the union calculates at 25% since 2009–10 after accounting for inflation.

In a joint statement, BMA consultants committee co-chairs Dr. Helen Neary and Dr. Shanu Datta criticized the government's response to ongoing negotiations:

"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."

Alongside pay restoration, the BMA is seeking a reduction in the standard working week for consultants from 40 hours down to 35 or 36 hours, higher pay rates for out-of-hours work, greater pension flexibility, and designated time for training junior staff.

Health Secretary Yvette Cooper expressed disappointment over the announcement, noting that discussions had been actively taking place and warning that the strike would exacerbate seasonal pressures:

"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."

Healthcare executives warned that the walkout will significantly disrupt operations as the NHS faces a backlog of over 6 million patients.

Ciarán Devane, head of the NHS Alliance, expressed deep concern regarding the impact on patient care:

“NHS leaders will be both astonished and dismayed by the BMA’s decision to proceed with walkouts 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 walkout will result in non-urgent outpatient appointments, elective surgeries and follow-ups being postponed or rescheduled. While [postponement] is needed in the interests of patient safety, it will potentially leave patients in unnecessary pain, discomfort, and inconvenience.”

Ben Morrin, chief executive of NHS Employers, called for realistic expectations regarding NHS spending:

“We need to be honest and transparent about what the NHS can afford at this time. If that limit is reached and industrial action takes place, we owe it to patients to focus on delivering the safest care we can.”

He added that the strike would “weaken the clinical teams in every NHS hospital, which are essential to delivering high-quality patient care this winter”.

The planned action marks the first consultant walkout in England since 2023, coming shortly after the government submitted evidence recommending a 2.4% pay increase for doctors for the 2027/28 financial year.