Strike action for consultants in England has been paused after the Government agreed to enter negotiations aimed at resolving the dispute over working conditions and pay.
Planned industrial action for consultants, which had been set to take place between 25 and 27 November, has been suspended after members of the BMA consultants committee agreed to formal negotiations.
Senior doctors had been poised to deliver limited Christmas Day level care as part of a 48-hour period of action, after the BMA warned last month that talks had ‘run out of road’.
'No constraints'
The decision to pause action comes following meetings between consultant leaders and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Yvette Cooper, with the consultant committee co-chairs Helen Neary and Shanu Datta cautiously welcoming negotiations.
They said: ‘We welcome the opportunity to enter formal negotiations with the Government and hope this marks a turning point in a dispute that has gone on for far too long.
‘We’ve always said strikes do not need to go ahead as long as the Government is willing to genuinely negotiate, and now is their chance to do so. We have received assurances that there are no constraints on what we discuss in these negotiations, and we look forward to hearing their proposals on both pay and working conditions.
‘Consultants have lost a quarter of their pay in real terms over 17 years, while working under increasingly unsustainable pressures. But this is about more than pay; it is also about ensuring consultants have the time, recognition and support they need to deliver the best possible care for patients and secure the future of the NHS, while not driving themselves to burn out.’
Good faith
While accepting negotiations in good faith, Dr Neary and Dr Datta insisted that meaningful progress needed to be made and that time and patience were not unlimited.
They said: ‘Pausing strike action in England gives both sides the opportunity to make progress. After 18 months of dispute, however, our patience is not infinite, and should these negotiations fail to swiftly deliver on the issues at the heart of this dispute, we will call further action.
‘Consultants deserve a deal that recognises our value and gives us a sustainable future in the NHS, both for ourselves and our patients.’
While consultants in England have entered negotiations, a ballot of consultants and SAS doctors in Scotland over working conditions and pay remains underway.
Meanwhile, planned strike action for consultants, specialist, associate specialist and specialty doctors and resident doctors in Northern Ireland, remains set to go ahead between 23 and 24 November and 20 to 21 November respectively.