Senior NHS doctors to strike for two more days next month in bitter row over pay

NHS consultants will go on strike again in September, the British Medical Association says.

The top doctors have announced a third walkout to follow their next one before the summer bank holiday.

They will down tools on September 19 and 20 if they do not get a “credible” pay offer, as well as on August 24 and 25.

They already earn an average of nearly £130,000 per year but the BMA says salaries are not keeping pace with inflation.

In a letter to Health Secretary Steve Barclay on Monday they said they were “extremely shocked” that ministers are refusing to negotiate.

Dr Vishal Sharma, chair of the BMA consultants committee, said: “It is now 133 days since the Secretary of State last met with us.

“This demonstrates the Government’s complete disregard for the expertise and value of consultants, and the very future of the health service and its patients.

“Consultants will go out on strike at the end of this month, and for a further two days in September – we’re in this for the long haul.”

More than 800,000 appointments and operations have been rescheduled because of nurses’ and doctors’ strikes since they began in December.

Junior doctors in the BMA will also strike again this week, from Friday, August 11, until next Tuesday, August 15.

Consultants’ strikes are harder for hospitals to cover because they are typically the most senior medics.

Miriam Deakin, of NHS Providers, said: “Each wave of strikes sets back efforts to cut record high waiting lists, delays care for patients, and leads to mounting costs for NHS trusts.

“We need the government and unions to find a solution fast, and ideally before the really challenging winter months.”