NHS consultants' strike: what to do if your appointment or operation is cancelled
If you’re on the waiting list for an NHS appointment or operation, you may be wondering if and how the upcoming NHS consultants’ strike on 25th and 26th November will affect you. Feeling worried and confused about the upcoming action is perfectly normal and you’re by no means alone; the strikes are predicted to affect tens of thousands of NHS patients.
This short blog aims to answer your questions, exploring why the consultants are going on strike, how it might affect planned treatments, and what options are available to you if your surgery is delayed.
The NHS consultants’ strike at a glance
The NHS consultants’ strike in England runs from 25-27th November 2026 and may cause delays to routine care, specialist consultations, outpatient appointments, and planned operations. Emergency care, maternity care, GP and pharmacy services are due to continue as normal.
The strike is mainly over pay conditions, workload pressures, and burnout. Affected NHS patients should wait to be contacted by the NHS if appointments need rescheduling, with cancelled appointments expected to be prioritised for rebooking.
When is the NHS consultants’ strike and who does it affect?
The NHS consultants’ strike is planned to start at 6:59am on Wednesday 25th November and conclude at 6:59am on Friday 27th November.
It is an England-wide strike action so won’t affect NHS patients in Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland and is consultants-only. This means nursing teams, pharmacists, radiographers, GPs, and other NHS staff are not taking part.
From 25-27th November 2026, NHS consultants are going on strike. There are several factors driving their decision, the main one being their pay. A recent pay rise of 2.4% was deemed insufficient, triggering the 3-day strike action. Other factors in play include unmanageable workloads, exceptionally long working weeks, and burnout.
It’s predicted the strike could affect tens of thousands of NHS patients, all while putting extra pressure on a waiting list backlog already thought to exceed 6 million. On a patient level, it’s likely the strikes will affect the following aspects of the healthcare journey:
The strike action has been triggered as a result of nearly 18 months of dispute with the Government over pay conditions. According to the BMA (British Medical Association), consultants’ pay has fallen by 25% over the last 17 years relative to the cost of living. This means that despite being offered pay rises, these have not kept up with the cost-of-living standards. A recent pay rise of 2.4% was deemed to be sub-inflationary, the third such example in a row.
Following the strike, the BMA is calling for the following changes:
renumeration for the pay lost following sub-inflationary pay rises
independent reform of the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB)
a reduction of the standard full-time working week from 40 hours to 35 hours
improved ‘out-of-hours’ pay
a minimum of three contractual Supporting Professional Activities (SPAs) to help deal with burnout and the culture of presenteeism.
While the strike is due to go ahead on 25th November, the BMA indicates the action could be avoided in the event Health Secretary Yvette Cooper commits to formal negotiations.
Health Secretary, Yvette Cooper, is said to be disappointed by the strike plans, feeling that ongoing discussions with the BMA have been constructive. She’s labelled the fact the strike is taking place over winter as irresponsible given the rowing backlog of patients and has pointed out the call to cut consultants’ working week by 5 hours would cost the NHS between £2-3 billion.
Any further strikes beyond the one planned for the end of November are subject to the success of ongoing talks between the BMA and the government.
This blog will be updated with any new information about further strike action.
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Will my appointment or operation still go ahead?
If you’re due to attend an NHS consultation or operation, you should assume it’s still going ahead unless you’ve been contacted and told otherwise. In the event your appointment needs to be rearranged, the NHS will contact you via text, letter, or over the phone.
The patients at highest risk of having their procedures changed are those with:
outpatient appointments
planned operations.
With regards to what will continue regardless of the strike:
A&E and urgent care
maternity care
GP services
pharmacy services.
At Practice Plus Group, there are no planned changes to any of our NHS services. Should this change, we’ll get in touch with our patients with next steps and instructions as soon as possible.
If you’d like to pay for a consultation with us, you’ll be seen by an experienced consultant within 1-2 weeks. This session costs £145 and includes an in-depth discussion about your specific symptoms and condition, a physical examination (if needed), blood tests and x-rays (if needed), and a detailed and tailored treatment plan.
What to do if your appointment or operation is cancelled
If your NHS appointment or operation has been cancelled due to the strikes, there are several things you can do:
First, check the message you’ve received is genuine and not a scam. The NHS corresponds via text, letter, or over the phone and never asks for payment or financial details to rebook
Don’t travel to the hospital – this will be a wasted journey
Keep a note of who contacted you and what was said
If you haven’t been given a new date for your appointment or operation, ask when you’re likely to be given one
Continue to take any medication you’re currently on until you’re told otherwise.
If your condition worsens while you’re waiting for your rearranged appointment or operation, get in touch with your GP or call NHS 111. If it’s an emergency, call 999.
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You might have heard that an appointment or operation cancellation means you’ll have to start again and go to the bottom of the waiting list. This isn’t true – in fact, patients inconvenienced by this strike will have their appointments rescheduled as a priority.
Unfortunately, there is no single fixed timescale to deal with the fallout from this strike action. The official line from the NHS is that patients affected by the strike will have their appointments or operations rebooked as a priority.
However, this depends on the speciality, hospital location, and the urgency for a patient to see a consultant. For example, cancer and urgent care patients will be rebooked first, along with the patients that have already been waiting the longest. If your appointment or operation has been cancelled due to the strike and you’ve waited for more than 3 weeks to hear news of a rearrangement, get in touch with the booking team for more information.
What are my rights as an NHS patient?
According to the NHS Constitution for England, NHS patients are entitled to certain core rights. These ensure safety, fairness, and high-quality care. The core rights include:
free access to healthcare
the ability to choose where to have treatment within England
the right to refuse or accept treatment
the right to have confidential medical information kept private
the option of getting a second opinion on a diagnosis or treatment plan
the right to raise concerns or complaints, have it acknowledged within 3 days, and receive a thorough investigation.
What are your options if your NHS treatment is delayed?
The unfortunate consequence of the consultants’ strike at the end of the month is that a huge number of NHS patients are going to face disruption and delays to their healthcare journey.
But if you are affected by the strike, there are other options available to you. Aside from waiting for your NHS appointment or operation to be rearranged, you could choose to go private.
At Practice Plus Group, a private consultation costs £145 and lasts about an hour. During that time, you’ll have an in-depth discussion with a specialist about the symptoms of your condition. You may also undergo a physical examination, have blood tests done, or x-rays taken, depending on the nature of your condition. By the end of the session, the aim is to provide you with an accurate diagnosis and, if treatment is needed, a plan tailored to your specific needs.
There’s no obligation for you to proceed with having treatment privately with us, but if you do, you’ll be waiting no longer than 4 weeks for treatment.
Private healthcare offers greater flexibility over when, where, and by whom you’re treated. In the vast majority of cases, the waiting times are shorter too, and with Practice Plus Group, prices are transparent.
Choosing private healthcare can make planned treatment easier to fit around work, family, and personal commitments. Options to access private treatment are self-pay, payments plans, or medical insurance.
Not yet found the information you’re looking for? Our FAQs might be able to help!
You should still attend your NHS appointment during the strike unless you’ve been notified of any changes to the time. The NHS will get in touch with you either over the phone or via text or letter.
You’ll be notified by the NHS of any changes to your appointment via text, letter, or over the phone. The NHS will never ask for financial details (due to the healthcare being free of charge), so if you’re being asked to provide these, it’s likely a scam.
No. If your appointment is affected by the strikes, you won’t lose your place on the waiting list. In fact, according to the NHS, you’ll actually be prioritised, along with cancer patients and urgent cases. Your waiting time also won’t restart but will likely extend for at least a few weeks to accommodate the effects of the strike.
The 28-day rule applies to patients that suspect they have cancer. Under NHS England guidelines, patients should not wait more than 28 days from an urgent referral to find out if they have cancer. With regards to the NHS consultants’ strike, the 28-day rule only applies if your appointment has been cancelled for non-clinical reasons.
Yes. All NHS patients have the right to choose the hospital they want to attend for their treatment. If you’ve had your appointment or treatment cancelled due to the consultants’ strike, you might be able to change hospital to one with a shorter waiting list. While this might mean you’re seen sooner, you may need to travel farther depending on the hospital location.
Generally not but it’s worth getting in touch beforehand to check.
If you’re a private patient at Practice Plus Group, your consultation or treatment is unaffected by the strike and will go ahead as planned.
James Wood, Content Specialist
This article was co-written by Content Specialist, James Wood. Our Content Specialist, James, has been writing articles and blogs for Practice Plus Group since 2022. He has more than a decade of experience as a copywriter within a range of different backgrounds and works closely with medical professionals to deliver information that's easy-to-read and patient-focused.
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