Senior Doctors in England Plan Two-Day Strike in November

England’s most senior hospital doctors are set to go on strike for two days in November. The walkout, which will take place on 25 and 26 November, comes after 18 months of failed negotiations between the government and the British Medical Association (BMA). During these two days, consultants will only provide emergency cover, similar to the level of service usually provided on Christmas Day.

Consultants are the most experienced doctors in the hospital system. They have decided to take this action because they feel their concerns about pay and working conditions have been ignored. According to the BMA, the real-terms value of consultant salaries—what their money is actually worth after accounting for inflation—has fallen by 25% since 2009-10. In addition to a pay increase, the doctors are calling for a 10% reduction in their working hours to help manage high levels of burnout.

The BMA stated that the government’s recent offer of a 2.4% pay increase was the final reason for the strike. Dr. Helen Neary and Dr. Shanu Datta, the co-chairs of the BMA’s consultants committee, said that doctors have tried to find practical solutions for a long time. They noted that ministers have repeatedly delayed making decisions, leaving the profession with no choice but to take industrial action—a protest where employees stop working to demand better conditions.

This news has caused significant concern among NHS leaders. Ciarán Devane, the head of the NHS Alliance, said he was “astonished and dismayed” by the decision. He pointed out that the health service is currently trying to manage a backlog of more than 6 million patients waiting for over 7 million treatments. Devane warned that stopping work will disrupt plans to improve waiting times and will likely cause problems for the health service during the busy winter season.

“Any decision to down tools risks throwing these plans further off course and will once again disrupt patient care while severely hitting NHS finances,” Devane said. He added that while the NHS will prioritize safety, the strike will likely lead to the postponement of non-urgent appointments, elective surgeries, and follow-up meetings. This will result in unnecessary pain, discomfort, and inconvenience for many patients.

The situation creates a difficult challenge for Prime Minister Andy Burnham. His government is currently working to improve access to NHS care while dealing with very tight public finances. The BMA argues that consultants take their responsibilities very seriously and that striking does not come naturally to them, but they feel they have been pushed too far.

This is not the first time consultants have taken such action. They previously walked out for nine days during four separate strikes in 2023. Meanwhile, other groups of doctors have recently reached agreements with the government. In June, resident doctors—formerly known as junior doctors—accepted a deal to end their own long-running campaign of strikes, which had lasted more than three years.

As the November dates approach, both the government and the BMA remain in a difficult position. The BMA claims that the pay of consultants has fallen more sharply than in other parts of the economy, and they are also struggling with a lack of time to focus on their patients. For now, the health service is preparing for the disruption, hoping to minimize the impact on those who need care the most.