Consultants' strike: BMA sets out its terms as 25–26 November walkout looms

The British Medical Association announced on 26 October 2026 that senior hospital doctors in England will strike on 25 and 26 November 2026. The walkout begins at 06:59 GMT on 25 November, with consultants providing emergency cover only — the staffing model known as Christmas Day cover. Routine and elective services are expected to be disrupted.

The BMA says the strike can be avoided if the health secretary commits to adequately funded formal negotiations on pay and working conditions. This is not a walkout framed solely around a pay figure; the union has put hours and workload alongside money and given the government a stated route out.

The government recommended a 2.4% rise for doctors for 2027/28. The BMA calls that a significant real-terms cut, noting CPI inflation was 3.5% in September. Consultants received a 3.5% increase this year. The BMA argues senior doctors' pay has fallen 25% in real terms over 17 years.

Beyond pay, the BMA wants the standard working week cut from 40 to 35 hours, higher out-of-hours pay, and pension changes including greater flexibility over when pensions can be taken. The BMA said the strike follows 18 months of talks that failed to resolve pay and hours.

Health Secretary Yvette Cooper called the BMA's decision "very disappointing."

What Christmas Day cover means in practice: consultants will staff emergency care, and most planned operations, clinics and routine appointments are likely to be affected. The timing, as winter pressures build, is what makes the two days consequential for patients.

The dispute also tests whether the government's pay-review-body approach can settle NHS disputes, or whether below-inflation recommendations keep producing industrial action.