UK doctors vote on industrial action for first time in 37 years

More than 100 000 doctors across the United Kingdom are being asked to vote on whether they are prepared to provide only urgent and emergency care for 24 hours in protest at the government’s changes to the NHS pension scheme.

Should the BMA call for industrial action at the end of the month, doctors will have to attend their usual places of work as scheduled on the day of action but will undertake only treatments that cannot safely be postponed to another day.

Outpatient and GP appointments, non-urgent elective surgery, management meetings, and non-urgent administrative work would all be cancelled during the day of action.

The BMA says that the government’s plans to alter the NHS pension scheme …