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Consultant doctors in England have voted in favour of industrial action, establishing a strike mandate for the next 12 months in the NHS.

In a statutory ballot, 75.8% of consultants voted in favour of taking strike action. The British Medical Association (BMA) said that 18,069 members voted from an eligible workforce of 35,067. This represents a turnout of 51.5%, narrowly clearing the 50% threshold required.

With resident doctors voting in favour of the government’s revised NHS pay and jobs offer last week, following three years of walkouts, the focus now turns to senior doctors.

The BMA is seeking a multi-year pay agreement for consultants to address what it calculates as 26% real-terms pay erosion over the past 17 years, alongside contractual reforms to reduce burnout.

It said the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) had made repeated failures in setting consultants’ pay and questioned why the most senior consultants can earn £16,000 more in Wales.

In a statement, the BMA said: “This result demonstrates the strength of feeling among consultants: we need significant improvements to our working lives and that includes an end to pay erosion.”

The union added that “industrial action remains a last resort, and with the mandate for action now lasting 12 months, we have plenty of time to negotiate.”

The BMA’s core demands include a restructuring of the standard full-time working week – moving from 40 to 35 hours while maintaining current pay levels – to improve recruitment and retention. The union is also seeking enhanced pay for out-of-hours and on-call duties to combat workplace stress.

BMA consultants committee co-chairs Dr Helen Neary and Dr Shanu Datta said: “This is a clear message from consultants in England that they are not willing to tolerate the continued attack on their pay and professional value, and that, if necessary, they are willing to act.

“Consultants are the most senior and expert doctors working in hospitals, but by failing to recognise and support them to be the best clinical leaders, working tirelessly to improve care for patients, we risk losing them. The impact this would have on an already struggling NHS would be dire, and it is something the public are clearly very concerned about – so why are our politicians not worried too?

“With a new prime minister taking charge in a few weeks’ time, action now to avoid both the exodus of consultants and more industrial action by doctors in England is something that the government needs at the top of its in-tray.

“No strikes need to take place if the government addresses these issues, but we now have a mandate that consultants are prepared to use if it does not act.”

Sir Ciarán Devane, chief executive of the NHS Alliance, expressed disappointment at the ballot result.

“Health leaders will be disappointed that senior doctors have voted in favour of potential industrial action and now have a mandate to strike over the next 12 months,” he said. “Should they go ahead, any walkouts by consultants would once again impact the delivery of vital services and patient care.”

Devane urged both sides to return to collective bargaining to prevent operational disruption, adding: “Whilst NHS leaders acknowledge their concerns, they would urge senior doctors to get around the table and engage in meaningful dialogue to resolve these without hitting patient care again.”

A parallel ballot of specialist, associate specialist, and specialty (SAS) doctors failed to reach the required threshold. While 90.0% of voting SAS doctors supported strike action, turnout among the 6,369 eligible to vote was only 43.0%.

Consultant and SAS doctors in Northern Ireland walked out for 24 hours on 25-26 June.

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