Consultants in England have paused their planned two-day strike and will enter formal negotiations with the Government over pay and working conditions, the British Medical Association (BMA) said on 11 November 2026. The walkout had been due to take place on 25 and 26 November, with hospitals prepared to provide emergency-only cover on those days.

The decision removes, for now, the immediate threat of disruption to routine appointments and planned operations in England in late November. It does not settle the dispute. The BMA has warned that further strike action will be called if the talks fail to deliver progress, and the Government has said it has ruled out a pay increase for consultants in the current financial year.

What the BMA decided

The BMA consultants committee took the decision at an urgent meeting on Tuesday night, 11 November, after meetings with Health Secretary Yvette Cooper. The union said the planned action on 25 and 26 November had been paused to allow formal negotiations to take place.

Dr Helen Neary and Dr Shanu Datta, co-chairs of the BMA consultants committee, said they welcomed the opportunity to enter formal negotiations and hoped it marked a turning point in a dispute that, in their words, had gone on for far too long. They added that the committee had received assurances that there were no constraints on what would be discussed, according to reports of the union's announcement.

The BMA said its patience was not infinite.

Why consultants were planning to strike

Consultants in England have been in dispute with the Government since May 2025. Members voted in July 2026 to authorise industrial action, and the BMA announced the two-day walkout in October after 18 months of talks produced no agreement.

The union says consultants have suffered a 25 per cent real-terms pay cut over the last 17 years, alongside increasingly unsustainable workloads and worsening working conditions. It has also sought a reduction in the standard working week, from 40 hours to 35 hours, and measures to reduce burnout and keep senior doctors in the NHS.

The Government had proposed a 2.4 per cent pay uplift for all doctors in 2027/28 to the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration, the body that advises on doctors' pay. The BMA said that proposal showed the Government was not taking its concerns seriously. The Times reported that consultants earn an average of £152,000 a year, and have received a £25,000 boost to average earnings over the last four years.

Had the strike gone ahead, consultants would have provided only emergency cover, similar to staffing on Christmas Day. That would have delayed many routine appointments, follow-up clinics and planned operations, at a time when hospitals are preparing for winter pressures.

What the Government said

Health Secretary Yvette Cooper welcomed the BMA's decision. She said it was welcome news for patients and the wider NHS, avoiding disruption to care and allowing NHS staff to focus on delivering services and preparing for a challenging winter. She described her talks with the BMA consultants committee as constructive.

The Department of Health and Social Care has said it has ruled out any pay increases for consultants in the current financial year, according to reports of the talks. The Times reported that, while no topics for negotiations have been ruled out, the Government's mandate for negotiations does not allow for pay increases this financial year.

Reports of the talks also suggest the negotiations will look at working conditions and patient services, including the use of artificial intelligence to reduce the administrative burden on consultants.

What happens next

Formal negotiations are expected to begin shortly, with the BMA seeking meaningful progress on pay, workload and working conditions. No timetable for the talks has been published, and neither side has said when they expect an outcome.

For patients, the immediate effect is that appointments and operations planned for 25 and 26 November should go ahead as scheduled, unless hospitals say otherwise. Anyone with an appointment on those dates should attend as planned unless their hospital contacts them directly.

The wider picture remains unresolved. Consultants have not withdrawn their claim, the Government has not changed its position on pay in this financial year, and the BMA has made clear that it will return to industrial action if the talks fail. The pause gives both sides time to negotiate. Whether it becomes a settlement will depend on what the formal talks produce in the coming weeks.

Sources: The Times; Pulse Today.