Senior doctors call off two-day strike planned this month

Consultant doctors in England have called off their two-day strike this month to hold talks with the government.

The walkout was due begin on 25 November at 06:59 GMT, with consultants staffing emergency care only.

This is known as Christmas Day cover and was likely to have a major impact on most routine and elective or planned services.

But the British Medical Association, the trade union for doctors, said it was pausing the action to discuss pay and working conditions with the government.

Consultants – the most senior doctors in hospitals – were given a 3.5% pay increase this year.

But the BMA argues pay has fallen by a quarter over the past 17 years, once inflation is taken into account – although this is using a measure of inflation that tends to be higher than the one favoured by economists.

The union also wants a reduction in the standard working week, from 40 to 35 hours, and higher pay for out-of-hours work, alongside changes to pensions, including greater flexibility over when they can be taken.

Talks have been taking place over recent months, but the BMA said it was now entering formal discussions with the government.

In a statement, BMA consultants committee co-chairs Dr Helen Neary and Dr Shanu Datta 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."

Average earnings for consultants top £150,000 a year.

In the strike ballot, 76% of consultants who took part voted in favour of strike action, with just over half of eligible BMA members taking part.

The government says this represents only around one in five consultants employed by the NHS in England voting for strike action, as nearly half are not BMA members.