Hospital consultants in England are set to take industrial action on July 20 and 21 after voting heavily in favour in a dispute over pay, the British Medical Association announced on Tuesday.
It comes just days after junior doctor members of the BMA will stage five days of industrial action - the longest in the history of the health service.
The news will come as a blow to Health Secretary Steve Barclay after the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) on Tuesday announced that it had failed to meet the threshold for further strikes.
The BMA said that take-home pay for consultants in England has fallen by 35 per cent since 2008/2009 and that the result demonstrated the “strenfth of feeling” among consultants.
Industrial action will take the form of Christmas Day cover, meaning that most routine and elective services will be cancelled but full emergency cover will remain in place.
Prolonged strike action is likely to impact Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s target to bring NHS waiting lists down by next year.
Dr Vishal Sharma, BMA consultants committee chair, said: “We know consultants don't take the decision around industrial action lightly, but this vote shows how furious they are at being repeatedly devalued by Government. Consultants are not worth a third less than we were 15 years ago and have had enough.
“Consultants don't want to have to take industrial action, but have been left with no option in the face of a Government that continues to cut our pay year after year. However, it is not too late to avert strike action and the Government simply needs come back to us with a credible offer that we can put to our members.
“We are simply asking for fairness to ensure that there is a pay settlement that begins to reverse the real-terms pay decline that we have suffered and a commitment to fully reform the pay review process to ensure that it can make truly independent recommendations in the future that take into account historical losses so that we don't find ourselves in this situation again.
“But if they refuse, it is with a heavy heart that we will take action next month. We will prioritise patient safety and continue to provide emergency care, in-keeping with the level of services available on Christmas Day.”
Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “A double whammy of consultants resorting to two days of ‘Christmas Day cover’ - meaning they will provide emergency care but routine work will be paused - and a full walkout by junior doctors days earlier in the longest single strike ever seen in the NHS means disruption for many thousands of patients and yet more pressure on overstretched services. This is a huge risk for the NHS to manage.
“July will be the eighth consecutive month of industrial action across the NHS. More than 651,000 routine operations and appointments have had to be postponed already since December due to industrial action across the NHS with knock-on delays for many thousands more.”
He added: “We understand how strongly doctors feel – the high turnout in the consultants’ vote shows just how strongly - and why they are striking. Trust leaders will continue to do everything they can to limit disruption and keep patients safe but that’s getting harder and more expensive with every strike.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We hugely value the work of NHS consultants and it is disappointing the BMA consultants have voted to take strike action. Consultants received a 4.5% pay uplift last financial year, increasing average earnings to around £128,000, and they will benefit from generous changes to pension taxation announced at budget.
“Strikes are hugely disruptive for patients and put pressure on other NHS staff. We’ve been engaging with the BMA Consultants Committee on their concerns already and stand ready to open talks again – we urge them to come to the negotiating table rather than proceeding with their proposed strike dates.
“We urge the BMA to carefully consider the likely impact of any action on patients.”
