Burnham warns NHS will ‘struggle’ unless consultants return to pay talks
Andy Burnham said the NHS would “struggle” to cope with consultants’ strikes on 25 and 26 November and urged the BMA back to the table: “It’s not a case of ‘dig in’; more a case of, ‘let’s get back around the table’.” Speaking at Watford General Hospital, he added: “I’m not saying the thing that politicians often say about there being no money, but it’s just a fact, we have eked out what we could at the budget for the NHS.”
Consultants in England will walk out from 06:59 on 25 November, providing emergency cover only, after 76% of those voting backed action on a turnout of just over half of eligible BMA members — which the government says amounts to about one in five consultants. They received a 3.5% rise this year; the union says pay has fallen by a quarter in 17 years and wants the working week cut from 40 to 35 hours, higher out-of-hours rates and pension flexibility. Average earnings top £150,000. The BMA’s co-chairs say ministers have “kicked the can down the road” and “that road has now run out”; Yvette Cooper has called the strike “irresponsible”. The prime minister said: “It’s not a great time of year to be considering that prospect, but I’m always one who wants to talk things through.” He was in Watford to launch a £40m winter plan paying £126 per patient for up to 300,000 people, conceding: “I’m not going to pretend this winter will be easy.” A consultants’ strike overlapping the Tube stoppages from 26 November would be the sharpest test yet of his NHS promises. Watch for a BMA response this week.