Responding to news that the British Medical Association (BMA) will hold a consultative ballot of NHS consultants in England next month, NHS Providers interim chief executive Saffron Cordery said:

"The threat of more strikes is alarming for an overstretched NHS already battling to cope with the effects of the most widespread industrial action in its history.

"The workforce is the lifeblood of the NHS. It can ill afford to lose dedicated people because of stressful workloads exacerbated by severe staff shortages in the face of ever-growing demand.

"Pay is one key aspect of recruiting and retaining the staff which the NHS so desperately needs therefore it's vital that the government sits down with the unions urgently to avert more strikes.

"Meaningful pension reform for NHS staff is also essential and overdue, with temporary fixes by the government so far failing to get to the root of the problem.

"The longer the government puts off meaningful talks about this year's pay award, which fell far short of what trust leaders and staff hoped to see, the worse the impact of industrial action on the NHS and patients will get."