HSE strike 12 November: on 2 November the public service unions of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions announced a 24-hour national strike for Thursday 12 November 2026, a day later than first discussed, over the stalled public sector pay talks. Unions and the government were meeting an independent group on 3 November, so the strike could still be called off. The HSE had not said what will happen to appointments on 12 November when we checked on 3 November. In the first strike, on 14 October, it cancelled non-urgent hospital care, including outpatient appointments and planned procedures, while emergency departments, urgent cancer treatment and dialysis kept running. We will update this page when the HSE publishes its plan or the strike is called off.

Short answer

Not confirmed yet. The strike on Thursday 12 November 2026 was announced on 2 November and talks were still going on. The HSE has not yet said what will happen to appointments. In the last strike, on 14 October, all outpatient appointments and planned procedures were cancelled, but emergency departments, urgent cancer treatment and dialysis continued, and GPs and pharmacists stayed open. If your appointment is on 12 November, keep it unless your hospital tells you otherwise, and ask it directly.

Strike date
Thursday 12 November 2026, 24 hours (announced 2 November)
Status on 3 November
Talks continuing; HSE patient guidance not yet published
Last strike, 14 October
Outpatient appointments and planned procedures cancelled
Kept running on 14 October
Emergency departments, urgent cancer care, dialysis, GPs, pharmacists

What is confirmed about the 12 November strike

  • The date. The Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions announced on 2 November a 24-hour stoppage for Thursday 12 November. Unions had first discussed Wednesday 11 November (RTÉ, 2 November).
  • Why. Unions say the government has yet to make a credible offer on a new public sector pay deal. Talks were adjourned without agreement on Friday 30 October.
  • What could stop it. Unions and the government were each meeting a government-appointed group, chaired by the head of the Workplace Relations Commission, on 3 November (RTÉ, 3 November). A second strike planned after 14 October was suspended to allow talks, so this one could be too.
  • After the strike. Unions say they will intensify the work-to-rule that is already under way and consider further action. The HSE said at the end of October that the work-to-rule was already having a significant impact on services for patients (Irish Medical Times).

What happened to appointments in the 14 October strike

The best guide to 12 November is what happened in the first strike, when more than 300,000 public sector workers, including nurses and doctors, stopped work for 24 hours.

Wednesday 14 October 2026Went ahead
Planned careCancelled: the HSE expected to cancel all non-urgent care, including routine procedures and outpatient appointments
Kept runningEmergency departments, ambulances (reduced), urgent cancer treatment, dialysis; GPs and pharmacists
Source
Thursday 12 November 2026Announced on 2 November; talks continuing
Planned careNot yet announced: the HSE had published no patient guidance for this date when we checked on 3 November
Kept runningNot yet announced
Source

Before 14 October the HSE warned of "significant and widespread disruption" and expected to cancel all non-urgent care across hospitals and community settings: routine hospital procedures, outpatient appointments, day services, primary care clinics and other scheduled care. It said emergency departments, ambulance services (with a curtailed service) and other critical, time-sensitive care, such as urgent cancer treatment and dialysis, would continue, and that GPs, GP out-of-hours services and pharmacists would remain available. HSE dentists also joined the strike (RTÉ, 14 October).

On the day, the HSE's chief clinical officer, Dr Colm Henry, said all non-urgent procedures and all outpatient appointments were cancelled, along with community clinics and services, home care and other planned care, and day services for people with disabilities. He urged anyone who was urgently sick not to delay seeking treatment. In Cork and Kerry, the emergency departments at Cork University Hospital, Mercy University Hospital and University Hospital Kerry stayed open, at reduced capacity (RTÉ, 14 October).

If your appointment or operation is on 12 November

  1. Do not cancel it yourselfUnless the hospital tells you it is cancelled, plan to attend. The strike could still be called off.
  2. Ask the hospital in the days beforeRing the number on your appointment letter and ask whether your clinic, scan or operation is going ahead on 12 November.
  3. If it is cancelled, ask for a new date in writingAnd check that you are still counted as an active patient: suspended patients are not on the NTPF active lists (NTPF).
  4. If you are urgently unwell, get careOn 14 October, emergency departments, urgent cancer treatment and dialysis kept running.

If the strike adds to a long wait

At the end of September 2026, 692,524 people were waiting for a first outpatient appointment and 114,722 for inpatient or day-case treatment, according to the NTPF. A cancelled appointment goes back into that queue. How each list is made up is in HSE waiting list, and the wait for common operations is on the HSE hip replacement waiting time and cataract surgery wait in Ireland pages, next to private prices at home and abroad.

If you have waited longer than is normal for your condition, the HSE has two schemes that can pay towards treatment in another EU country; see will the HSE pay for treatment abroad? Ask your consultant first.

We will update this page when the HSE publishes its plan for 12 November, or if the strike is called off.