NHS consultants strike: Sheffield doctors striking to “protect the NHS” say it is not about pay

Striking NHS consultants outside Royal Hallamshire Hospital today, August 24, say they are on strike to protect the NHS and prevent doctors leaving the service.

Consultant members of the British Medical Association (BMA) are taking part in strike action from 7am today, August 24, until 7am on Saturday, August 26.

After consultant pay fell by a third in real terms since 2009, doctors say that the trainees feel undervalued and leave the NHS for other healthcare services, private and abroad, which has a detrimental effect on patient care.

Dr Fiona Taylor, consultant oncologist at Weston Park Cancer Care, said: "I have got grave concerns about the future of the NHS. An increases in pay reflect value, and because the trainees don't feel valued, they’re leaving.

"We are already seeing that affecting patient care, and it's only going to get worse. We don't get breaks and we work for 12 striaght hours. People are retiring early, in their fifties, because you cant sustain that for 20 years. If people want an NHS, it needs to be invested in."

At least 40 consultants were on the picket line at Royal Hallamshire Hospital this morning, and clearly had the support of many passing members of the public who waved, cheered, and honked their car horns.

Dr Rachel Hubbard, consultant uroradiologist at Royal Hallamshire Hospital, said: “The strike is about protecting the NHS as a whole. It is so precious, and who suffers without it? Everyone.

“The NHS is the best thing that Britain has come up with. We fought so people don't have to worry about funding emergency treatment or re-mortgaging the house to pay for cancer treatment.

“Medical students come out of university in hundreds of thousands of pounds of debt. Consultants are constantly on call and making complex decisions. They need to pay us, and pay nurses, doctors and paramedics, in line with inflation."

It takes at least six years to become a consultant after graduating from medical school. They are senior doctors who have completed full medical training in a specialised area of medicine, and are responsible for managing junior doctors.

Dr Caroline Wilson is a consultant oncologist at Weston Park Cancer Care, which currently has only half its medical consultant posts filled.

She said: “The strike is about ensuring we continue to have a cancer service which is free at the point of call, and ensuring the public have exceptional cancer care. That won’t happen if we can’t keep people in the NHS.

“If it were just about pay I would move, because I could get a better quality of life for my family in the US or Australia, but it’s not. I'm here because I believe in the NHS.”

In 2022, 13,000 doctors in the UK gave up their licences, and by the end of the year, 40% of junior doctors said they were planning to leave the NHS as soon as they could find another job.

Dr Neelam Dugar, who has been a consultant radiologist for over 20 years, said: “The salary is not competitive, and so the junior doctors are leaving. I have put my roots down here, but the junior doctors are not going to stay. So I’m striking to protect the NHS, I’m striking for the patients.

“A lot of doctors are going to Australia and New Zealand, and even Ireland - you don’t have to go far to get better. But people leaving makes it even more difficult for the people who are left behind. The workload is astronomical. People start retiring early. It is a vicious cycle, and something needs to be done.”

The form of strike taking place this week, on September 19 and 20, and on October 2, 3 and 4, provides “Christmas Day” levels of care. This means emergency care continues, but elective or non-emergency work has been cancelled.

No other clinicians can provide cover for consultants, so any care requiring even remote consultant supervision must be rescheduled. This means almost all routine care will be brought “to a standstill”, according to NHS England.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “I am concerned and disappointed that the BMA has gone ahead with this industrial action which will continue to affect patients and hamper efforts to cut NHS waiting lists.

“I’m aware some consultants cut short their annual leave over the most recent periods of industrial action by the BMA Junior Doctors Committee and I am incredibly grateful to those staff who came forward to help protect patients and services.

“We have accepted the independent pay review body recommendations in full, giving consultants a 6% pay rise which means average NHS earnings for consultants of £134,000, on top of a pension where generous tax changes mean a consultant can retire at age 65 with a pension each year for life of £78,000 a year. This pay award is final and I urge the BMA to call an end to strikes.”

People should continue to use 999 in life-threatening emergencies, and go to NHS 111 online or call 111 for other health concerns. GP services and pharmacies are available as normal.