Consultant strike November 2026: the BMA says senior hospital doctors in England will strike from 06:59 on 25 November to 06:59 on 27 November, with emergency cover similar to Christmas Day. Routine and planned care is where the impact falls, so if you have an operation, scan or clinic booked for those dates, this guide sets out what the NHS has promised about rebooking cancelled operations, what you can ask for, and what paying privately at home or abroad would cost instead.

Short answer

Consultants in England plan to strike from 06:59 on 25 November to 06:59 on 27 November 2026, staffing emergency care only. The BBC reports that this is likely to have a major impact on most routine and planned services. If a planned operation is cancelled on or after the day of admission for a non-clinical reason, the NHS pledges to offer another binding date within 28 days, or to fund treatment at the time and hospital of your choice.

Strike dates
06:59 on 25 November to 06:59 on 27 November 2026 (England)
Cover
Emergency care only, similar to Christmas Day staffing
Cancelled on the day
NHS pledge: a new binding date within 28 days, or treatment funded at a time and hospital of your choice
Waiting over 18 weeks
You can ask your ICB for a faster alternative provider

When the consultant strike is, and who it affects

The BMA announced the strike on 26 October 2026. Its press release sets the walkout from 06:59 on 25 November to 06:59 on 27 November, with formal notices to follow, and says emergency cover will continue during the two days, “similar to how hospitals are staffed on Christmas Day”.

  • Who: consultants in England, the most senior hospital doctors. Consultants run clinics, lead operating lists and supervise junior staff, which is why planned care depends on them.
  • What keeps running: emergency care. The BBC reports that Christmas Day cover “is likely to have a major impact on most routine and elective or planned services”.
  • Can it be called off? The BMA says action can be avoided if the Health Secretary commits to adequately funded formal negotiations on pay and working conditions. Its co-chairs said the government had four weeks to avoid it.
  • The rest of the UK: the dates cover England. The BMA opened a separate ballot of consultants and SAS doctors in Scotland on 26 October, and the BBC reports that doctors are striking in Northern Ireland during November.

Consultants last struck in England in 2023, according to the BBC. The BMA's ballot this summer gave a mandate for action; the BBC reports that 76% of consultants who voted backed it, while the government says that represents about one in five NHS consultants in England.

If your operation is cancelled: what the NHS has promised

Two commitments in the handbook to the NHS Constitution for England matter here. Neither mentions strikes by name, so ask your hospital how it applies them to you.

  1. The 28-day pledge. All patients who have operations cancelled, on or after the day of admission (including the day of surgery), for non-clinical reasons should be offered another binding date within 28 days, or have their treatment funded at the time and hospital of their choice. A strike is not a clinical reason, so if your operation is stopped on the day, ask for that date in writing.
  2. The 18-week right. You have a legal right to start consultant-led treatment within 18 weeks of referral for non-urgent conditions. If that is not possible, your integrated care board (ICB) or NHS England must take all reasonable steps to offer a suitable alternative provider that can treat you sooner. You need to contact the hospital you were referred to, or your ICB, to start this.

The 28-day promise is a pledge, not a legal right; the 18-week rule is a right, with exceptions such as when you choose to wait longer or delaying is in your clinical interest. Cancellations made days before admission, for example a letter postponing your date, are not covered by the 28-day pledge, but the 18-week clock keeps running.

What to do now if you are booked for 25 or 26 November

  1. Ask your hospital whether your appointment is going ahead, and how it will tell you. The BMA and BBC reports do not say how hospitals will contact patients.
  2. Keep your date until you hear otherwise, and keep any pre-operative instructions (fasting, stopping medicines) unless the hospital tells you to stop.
  3. If it is cancelled on the day, ask for a new binding date within 28 days and note who you spoke to.
  4. If you are already past 18 weeks, ask the hospital or your ICB about an alternative provider. Our NHS waiting list tracker shows how far behind each specialty is: in August 2026, only 61.1% of people waiting in trauma and orthopaedics were within 18 weeks.
  5. If your condition gets worse while you wait, contact your GP or NHS 111; emergency care continues through the strike.

If you would rather not wait: paying at home or abroad

Some people decide that a second delay is the point at which they pay. These are the prices we hold for four common treatments, each from the provider's own page, next to the lowest prices published abroad. Clinic prices abroad usually leave out flights and hotel nights.

The NHS will not refund a private operation you choose to pay for. The only NHS route for treatment abroad is S2, which covers planned state treatment in Europe, approved before you go, and only if the NHS confirms it cannot treat you in a medically acceptable time; it never covers private clinics. Read whether the NHS will pay for treatment abroad before you count on it.

Why consultants are striking

The BMA says consultants have been in dispute with the government since May 2025 and won a mandate for action in July 2026. It is asking for funded formal negotiations on more protected time for teaching and improving services, a shorter standard working week, and better recognition for out-of-hours work, and says consultant pay is about 25% lower in real terms than 17 years ago. It says the government proposed a 2.4% rise for 2027/28 to the doctors' pay review body. The Health Secretary, Yvette Cooper, told the BBC that striking would be “irresponsible” and would put the health service under greater pressure. We will update this page if the strike is called off or new dates are announced.