(Bloomberg) — Senior doctors in England voted to strike after a separate ballot among nurses fell short of the threshold needed for them to continue months of damaging industrial action.
Some 86% of consultants balloted chose to take action, on a 71% turnout, the British Medical Association said Tuesday in an emailed statement. Unless the government presents a “credible” pay offer, they’ll walk out July 20-21, it said, confirming strike dates it had previously announced.
The announcement came just hours after the Royal College of Nursing said 84% of members backed further walkouts as part of a long-running protest over pay, but on a 43% turnout that fell short of the 50% required.
The latest BMA announcement means that the National Health Service faces more damaging industrial action as consultants join junior doctors in walking out, putting at risk Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s promise to get waiting lists down. His spokesman, Max Blain, on Tuesday told reporters that strikes since December caused some 600,000 appointments to be delayed.
www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/england-senior-doctors-vote-strike-155032446.html