‘It’s for the future’: NHS consultants striking for pay that ‘keeps workforce’

Consultants say they are taking action because below inflation pay rises are damaging retention

Outside Manchester Royal Infirmary, dozens of consultants had joined the picket line, taking part in a 96-hour strike organised after the health secretary refused an improvement of the 6% pay rise offered to NHS staff.

Dr Indy Kapila, an intensive care consultant at Manchester University NHS foundation trust and chair of the BMA regional consultant committee, said strike action was necessary due to the wage stagnation consultants have faced over the past decade and the sub-optimal" pay awards the government has offered since.