Strike by consultant doctors in England paused

A strike by consultant doctors in England has been paused following meetings with the government, the British Medical Association (BMA) announced.

The planned industrial action over the "value and sustainability" of the consultant role was due to take place on 25 and 26 November.

The BMA previously accused the government of "ignoring concerns" around the "wellbeing and workload" of medics.

Emergency care was planned had the strike gone ahead, similar to how hospitals are staffed on Christmas Day.

However, on Wednesday the BMA said it had agreed to pause planned action to allow negotiations to take place, following an urgent meeting of its consultants committee the previous evening.

It said it was seeking "meaningful progress on the 25% real-terms pay cuts consultants have experienced over the last 17 years".

The government will not negotiate pay rises for this financial year, but it has suggested utilising artificial intelligence and designing new technologies to reduce the administrative burden on consultants.

Dr Helen Neary and Dr Shanu Datta, BMA consultants committee co-chairs, said in a joint statement: "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."

Health and Social Care Secretary Yvette Cooper called it "welcome news for patients and the wider NHS".

She went on: "I had a constructive discussion with the BMA Consultants Committee on reforms that could give consultants a stronger voice, greater flexibility and more freedom to innovate, while improving services for patients. We are committed to taking that work forward together in the weeks ahead."

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Along with pay, the BMA also wants to discuss measures to tackle burnout and keep consultants in the NHS.

This includes more protected time to focus on teaching the next generation of medics, reducing standard hours to bring consultants in line with other NHS staff, and higher recognition for the most taxing out-of-hours work.

It has warned that "patience is not infinite" and said that further strikes will be announced if talks fail.

Consultants in England last went on strike in 2023, but have been in dispute with the government since last year.

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