Consultants in England vote in favour of future NHS strike action over pay dispute

Consultants across England have voted in favour of potential future strike action in a dispute over pay and pensions, raising the prospect of renewed industrial disruption across the NHS.

In a ballot organised by the British Medical Association (BMA), 76% of participating consultants backed strike action, giving the union a mandate to call strikes over the next 12 months if talks with government fail to resolve the dispute.

Just over half of eligible members took part in the vote, with 13,695 consultants voting in favour out of 18,069 ballots cast. The BMA said the result sends a clear message that senior doctors are prepared to act if concerns over pay erosion are not addressed.

The dispute follows several years of industrial action across the NHS, which saw resident doctors previously known as junior doctors stage repeated strikes before accepting a pay deal earlier this year. Those walkouts led to the cancellation of hundreds of thousands of appointments and operations.

Consultants say their pay has fallen significantly in real terms over the past 17 years, arguing that recent increases have not kept pace with inflation or workload pressures. They are also raising concerns about pensions and long-term retention within the senior medical workforce.

BMA leaders representing consultants said the vote reflects growing frustration among senior doctors and warned that action could follow unless the government makes meaningful progress in negotiations.

The government has rejected the case for strikes, with the Health and Social Care Secretary saying consultants are already among the highest paid public sector workers and that recent pay rises amount to a significant increase over the past four years. Ministers have urged the BMA to continue discussions rather than escalate industrial action.

NHS leaders have warned that any strike action by consultants would present major challenges for hospitals, as senior doctors play a key role in surgeries, specialist care and decision-making across services. While emergency care would continue, routine treatment could face significant disruption.

Consultants last took strike action in 2023, and further industrial unrest would mark a return to tensions between the profession and government over pay and working conditions.

The BMA says strikes are not inevitable and could still be avoided if a settlement is reached that addresses what it describes as long-term pay erosion and contract concerns.