Junior Physicians in England to Launch Five Consecutive Day Strike in November
Doctors in the UK are preparing to stage a five-day strike in November, in protest over jobs and pay.
Strike Details
The British Medical Association (BMA) announced that resident doctors will walk out for five consecutive days from November 14 at 7am to 7am on 19 November.
Resident doctors, who make up about half of all medical staff in the NHS, are taking this action after unsuccessful talks with the health department.
Causes of the Walkout
Dr Jack Fletcher stated, “We did not want to reach this point. We have spent the last week in talks with government, urging the health minister to end the scandal of doctors going unemployed.”
“We know from our own survey 50% of second-year physicians in England are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst millions of patients endure long waits for care and hospital shifts remain vacant. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He continued, “We negotiated sincerely, keen for the minister to understand that a agreement offering solutions to slowly restore the cuts to pay over a number of years, providing newly trained doctors a raise of just a pound an hour for the next four years.”
“We trusted the authorities would recognize that our asks are not just fair but are in the interest of the community and our patients and would also help stop our physicians leaving the NHS.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Resident doctors have as much as eight years of experience practicing in hospitals, depending on their specialty, or up to three years in primary care.
Further information will follow shortly.
