on whether to take action…………….voting due to close on 7th December.

In their tiny insert in BBC Breakfast, every half-four, the BBC Reporting Scotland team gave over most of the time allocation to this possibility of a strike, in more than 5 weeks. They cannot wait to have you start the process of thinking NHS Scotland is as troubled as NHS England and for old folk to wonder if it’s worth attending appointments.

We’ve seen this over and over, this last four or five years, as NHS England unions go on strike and in Scotland they never, so far do, after what the BMA has welcomed as respectful negotiations in sharp contrast to the ministerial attempts to bully them in England.

In late December 2025, Dr Chris Smith, chair of the BMA’s Scottish Resident Doctors Committee, said after meetings with Health Secretary Neil Gray:

We have held useful talks with Neil Gray and the Scottish Government today and we welcome the constructive approach adopted. ⁠

So far, NHS Scotland has lost no days and no appointment as a result of industrial action by health unions whereas, in the last years, NHS England:

Around 1.5 million or more appointments had to be cancelled in NHS England, with over 1 million staff working days lost, from late 2022 onward.¹

While short-term mortality has not risen measurably, delayed elective procedures, diagnostics, and treatments carry known risks. Meta-analyses show that a four-week delay in cancer treatment is associated with increased mortality risk, roughly 6–10% or more depending on the cancer and treatment type.²

On several occasions. Health unions have described the Scottish Government negotiators and talks as constructive, and have publicly contrasted Scotland’s direct negotiation approach favourably with the process used elsewhere in the UK.^{3, 4}

Sources:

1. https://www.england.nhs.uk/2024/07/nhs-publishes-data-following-junior-doctors-strike-4/
2. https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4087
3. https://www.ireland-live.ie/national/swinney-welcomes-talks-with-bma-ahead-of-planned-doctors-strike-6669787
4. https://www.unison.org.uk/news/2025/05/health-secretary-should-follow-scottish-lead-with-direct-pay-talks/