Northern Trust chief says strike day has been ‘quite challenging’ as doctors walk out

The interim chief executive of the Northern Health and Social Care Trust has described today as “quite a challenging day” for operational teams as consultants and specialist doctors took part in 24-hour industrial action.

Speaking at a meeting of the Trust Board at Antrim Hospital on Thursday morning, Suzanne Pullins acknowledged colleagues taking part in the strike and thanked everyone who had worked to make Northern Trust services “as safe as possible today”.

“We never know in advance how well industrial action will work for us,” she said.

However, she stressed the extensive planning and mitigation measures that had been put in place to minimise disruption.

Industrial action is taking place from 7am on Thursday, June 25, until 7am on Friday, June 26, with the Northern Health and Social Care Trust warning of “significant disruption” to services.

The strike involves consultants and specialist, associate specialist and specialty (SAS) doctors across Northern Ireland.

Resident doctors are also due to take part in separate 24-hour industrial action on Monday, June 29.

In an online statement, the Northern Health and Social Care Trust said:

“We are expecting disruption to our services today (Thursday 25 June 2026) as a result of planned industrial action by the BMA (British Medical Association).

“Our focus will be on maintaining safe services for acutely unwell patients within our inpatient facilities and protecting urgent and emergency care.

“Our message to patients and service users is that they should attend all scheduled appointments unless contacted by the Trust to advise otherwise.”

The Trust also reminded patients that further strike action is scheduled for Monday, June 29.

The British Medical Association (BMA) said the 24-hour strike would operate on a “Christmas Day cover” basis, meaning that most routine and elective work would be cancelled while emergency care would continue.

Leanne Davison, chair of the BMA Northern Ireland Specialist, Associate Specialist and Specialty Doctor Committee, said the Northern Ireland Executive “could have stopped the strike but had chosen not to”.

“Our health service can no longer run on the goodwill of frontline staff. Doctors are choosing to leave the health service or reduce their contracted hours because of continued pay erosion, and we can see the consequences of this in services having to close due to staffing shortages,” she said.

“Those with the power to change this have so far chosen not to, which has forced hospital doctors into the unacceptable position of taking strike action in order to be heard.

“But it is not too late. We again call on government to step in and resolve this dispute with a credible offer to avert strike action without delay.”

David Farren, chair of the BMA Northern Ireland Consultants Committee, said no doctor wanted to take industrial action.

“However, there is a palpable sense of anger among all secondary care doctors after years of significant pay erosion in return for trying to deliver care in an overstretched health system where their jobs have become more complex and pressured.

“Add in the now annual uncertainty over late pay awards while our colleagues elsewhere in the UK are paid on time, along with the more lucrative contracts offered in the Republic of Ireland, and you create a hugely demoralising effect on doctors working in Northern Ireland.”

In an online statement, Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said he was “disappointed” that consultants and specialist, associate specialist and specialty doctors had proceeded with industrial action.

He said:

“It is important to stress that over 90% of services across the Health and Social Care (HSC) system are proceeding as planned. All patients with scheduled appointments on either day should attend as planned unless they have been directly contacted to advise their appointment has been postponed.

“All Trusts have activated their planning arrangements to ensure essential services are maintained.

“I remain committed to implementing this year’s pay award as recommended by the independent Doctors’ and Dentists’ Pay Review Body (DDRB) but, unfortunately, I am currently unable to do so in the absence of an agreed budget for my department.

“This action is being taken on the mandate of less than a quarter of the medical workforce in Northern Ireland. Overall, only 24.8% of doctors locally voted to take this action.

“I am very grateful to those who recognise the impact strike action will have on our population and for their commitment to providing continuity of service.

“The uplift recommended by the Review Body for 2026/27 is 3.5%, which is higher than that for other healthcare professionals working in Health and Social Care.

“It comes on top of average cumulative pay uplifts over the last three years of 30% for resident doctors, 25% for specialty, associate specialist and specialist (SAS) doctors, and 24% for consultants.

“I recently met with the chairs of the three relevant BMA committees and made clear my position. They made clear that even the increase of 3.5% is nowhere near enough to satisfy their demands.

“To go beyond the 3.5% recommended by the independent pay review body would have significant repercussions for nurses, teachers, police officers and, indeed, the entire public sector workforce. Calling on me to act fails to recognise that this is an Executive decision, a point I put to the BMA representatives.”

The Health Minister added that there is “simply no scope for pay awards beyond the recommendations of the review bodies in 2026/27”.