Senior NHS doctors are set to strike in November after the British Medical Association condemned the Government’s proposed 2.4 per cent pay increase as “an insult”.
The BMA, which represents doctors across the UK, said the Government had repeatedly ignored its requests to begin formal negotiations.
Consultants in England voted “reluctantly but decisively” for industrial action and will walk out from 6.59am on November 25 until 6.59am on November 27.
The BMA said: “We firmly believe this is now the only way to make the Government take consultants and the issues threatening our profession seriously.”
Health Secretary Yvette Cooper described the decision as “disappointing”, saying the BMA had chosen strike action instead of continuing talks with the Government.
She 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 that dialogue.
“Alongside colleagues across the NHS, I am determined to support staff and patients through the difficult winter period. I hope the BMA will continue working with us, rather than taking irresponsible action that would put the health service under even more pressure at this crucial time.”
Senior NHS doctors are set to strike in November, according to the British Medical Association (file image)
The BMA Consultants Committee is also seeking a five-hour reduction in the working week, a move estimated to cost taxpayers between £2 billion and £3 billion.
The dispute comes as consultants are earning an average of £152,000 this year, with average pay having risen by £25,000 over the past four years.
Sir Ciaran Devane, chief executive of the NHS Alliance, said NHS leaders would be “astonished and dismayed” by the decision to proceed with consultant walkouts while efforts to restore waiting-time targets remain fragile and hospitals prepare for winter after a demanding summer.
“Any decision to down tools risks pushing these plans further off course, disrupting patient care once again and placing additional strain on NHS finances,” he said.
A consultant strike would lead to non-urgent outpatient appointments, planned operations and follow-up consultations being postponed or rearranged.
Although such cancellations may be necessary to protect patient safety, Sir Ciaran warned that they could leave patients facing avoidable pain, discomfort and inconvenience.
Unions placed the NHS on notice earlier this month after the Government proposed a pay rise below the rate of inflation.
The BMA called the real-terms reduction “derisory” and said it “beggars belief”, while the Royal College of Nursing branded the offer a “betrayal”.
Health Secretary Yvette Cooper said it was “disappointing” that the BMA had chosen strike action instead of “continuing dialogue” with colleagues (file image)
Dr Helen Neary and Dr Shanu Datta, co-chairs of the BMA’s consultants committee, said consultants were the NHS’s most senior and highly skilled doctors. They provide frontline, life-saving treatment while also helping to run and design services, train and supervise the future workforce, and ensure patients receive the best possible care.
They added: “Addressing the pressures facing the health service will be impossible without properly 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.’
Consultants in England last went on strike in 2023 but have been in dispute with the Government since last year.
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The planned walkout comes after members of the BMA voted in favour of a mandate for industrial action in July.
The BMA said the strike can be avoided if Health Secretary Yvette Cooper commits to formal negotiations on pay and working conditions.
Emergency cover will continue during the strike.
Consumer Prices Index inflation rose to 3.1 per cent in August 2026 with core inflation (excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco) reaching 2.6 per cent.
The Bank of England has said inflation is expected to rise further as a result of global pressures on higher energy prices.
Resident doctors are earning 35.2 per cent more on average than they were four years ago after 15 rounds of strikes that cost the NHS over £3billion and led to the cancellation of 1.5million appointments.
In 2026, the Government accepted a 3.5 per cent pay increase recommended by the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration, exceeding its initial proposal of 2.5 per cent.
In addition to a salary raise, the BMA has asked for a reduction in the full-time working week for consultants, improved payment for out-of-hours work and ensuring consultants towards the end of their career can ‘recoup lost pension value’.
The BMA said: ‘We have now been in dispute for 18 months with a strike action mandate for over three months.
‘We have tried to get our message through to government and avoid calling industrial action.
‘Unfortunately, we are now in a position where industrial action is planned if there is no commitment to negotiations with funding to deliver a credible offer.’
A new wave of senior doctor strikes could drag on until next summer after Labour doubled the length of time union barons can legally stage walkouts for.
Under new laws, the strike mandate secured by the BMA will last 12 months.
Under the previous Tory government, strike mandates were capped at six months to limit disruption and so regular ballots could test whether strikes maintained support.
The law change took effect this year and the dispute is one of the first which will allow walkouts for up to 12 months under the new rules, brought in under Labour’s Employment Rights Act 2025.
Tory shadow health secretary Damian Hinds said: ‘From the start, Labour have danced to the trade unions’ tune.
‘Yet despite ministers awarding pay rises without clear expectations around working practices, the strikes are continuing.
‘It is little wonder the BMA are back for more when the Government has shown such weakness in the face of union demands.
‘Health Secretary Yvette Cooper must get a grip of militant unions and ensure changes to pay are paired with minimum service requirements to protect essential services and keep patients safe.
‘The Conservatives will ban doctors’ strikes, putting patients and taxpayers first.’
The walkout will go ahead despite less than half of senior doctors voting for it.
Of 35,067 consultants eligible to vote in the BMA ballot, just 18,069 (52 per cent) did. Of these, 13,695 voted in favour of striking.
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