During previous rounds of industrial action in 2023 and 2024, NHS England told trusts to cancel large volumes of non-urgent care so that consultants could step in to cover emergency services. But under the leadership of new NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey, hospitals have now been instructed to cancel non-urgent work only in “exceptional circumstances” – and only with prior approval. The BMA argues this new approach risks spreading non-striking doctors too thinly, with Dr Runswick warning: “Senior doctors are needed to be freed up in order to provide urgency and critical care. “Strikes by doctors do not have to be risky,” she said. However, the BMA says real-terms pay has still fallen by around 20% since 2008, and is pushing for full “pay restoration”.
