Senior doctors call off two-day strike planned this month

Consultant doctors successful England person called disconnected their two-day onslaught this period to clasp talks with the government.

The walkout was owed statesman connected 25 November astatine 06:59 GMT, with consultants staffing exigency attraction only.

This is known arsenic Christmas Day screen and was apt to person a large interaction connected astir regular and elective oregon planned services.

But the British Medical Association, the commercialized national for doctors, said it was pausing the enactment to sermon wage and moving conditions with the government.

Consultants – the astir elder doctors successful hospitals – were fixed a 3.5% wage summation this year.

But the BMA argues wage has fallen by a 4th implicit the past 17 years, erstwhile ostentation is taken into relationship – though this is utilizing a measurement of ostentation that tends to beryllium higher than the 1 favoured by economists.

The national besides wants a simplification successful the modular moving week, from 40 to 35 hours, and higher wage for out-of-hours work, alongside changes to pensions, including greater flexibility implicit erstwhile they tin beryllium taken.

Talks person been taking spot implicit caller months, but the BMA said it was present entering ceremonial discussions with the government.

In a statement, BMA consultants committee co-chairs Dr Helen Neary and Dr Shanu Datta said: "We invited the accidental to participate ceremonial negotiations with the authorities and anticipation this marks a turning constituent successful a quality that has gone connected for acold excessively long.

"We've ever said strikes bash not request to spell up arsenic agelong arsenic the authorities is consenting to genuinely negotiate, and present is their accidental to bash so.

"We person received assurances that determination are nary constraints connected what we sermon successful these negotiations, and we look guardant to proceeding their proposals connected some wage and moving conditions."

Average net for consultants apical £150,000 a year.

In the onslaught ballot, 76% of consultants who took portion voted successful favour of onslaught action, with conscionable implicit fractional of eligible BMA members taking part.

The authorities says this represents lone astir 1 successful 5 consultants employed by the NHS successful England voting for onslaught action, arsenic astir fractional are not BMA members.