Senior doctors in England have called off a two-day strike planned for this month to hold talks with the government. The strike, which was set to begin on 25 November, would have seen consultants staffing emergency care only, with routine and elective services likely to be severely impacted. The British Medical Association (BMA), the trade union for doctors, made the decision to pause the strike after months of negotiations with the government. Consultants, who are the most senior doctors in hospitals, were offered a 3.5% pay increase this year, but the BMA argues that pay has fallen by a quarter over the past 17 years when adjusted for inflation. The union is also seeking changes to working conditions, including a reduction in the standard working week from 40 to 35 hours, higher pay for out-of-hours work, and greater flexibility over pensions. The BMA has been in talks with the government for months, but has now entered formal discussions. In a statement, co-chairs of the BMA consultants committee, Dr Helen Neary and Dr Shanu Datta, welcomed the opportunity to negotiate with the government and expressed hope that it marked a turning point in the dispute. They stated that the government now has the chance to genuinely negotiate and address the union's concerns. The strike was expected to have a significant impact on the NHS, with average earnings for consultants topping £150,000 a year. In the strike ballot, 76% of consultants who took part voted in favour of strike action, with just over half of eligible BMA members participating. However, the government claims that this represents only around one in five consultants employed by the NHS in England voting for strike action, as nearly half are not BMA members.