Resident Doctors in England to Begin Five Consecutive Day Strike Next Month
Doctors in the UK are set to begin a five-day walkout in November, in protest over jobs and pay.
Walkout Information
The British Medical Association (BMA) announced that resident doctors will walk out for five days in a row from 7am on 14 November to 7am on 19 November.
Resident doctors, who constitute nearly 50% of all medical staff in the National Health Service, are proceeding with the strike after unsuccessful talks with the government.
Reasons Behind the Strike
Dr Jack Fletcher stated, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have been negotiating for the past week with government, urging the health minister to resolve the crisis of unemployed physicians.”
“Our survey reveals half of second-year doctors in England are facing unemployment, their skills going to waste whilst countless individuals endure long waits for care and shifts in hospitals remain vacant. This cannot continue.”
He added, “We talked with the government in good faith, hoping the health secretary to understand that a deal including options to gradually reverse the pay reductions over several years, giving newly trained doctors a raise of just a pound an hour for the next four years.”
“We hoped the government would recognize that our demands are not just reasonable but are in the best interests of the public and our patients and would also help stop our physicians departing from the health service.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Junior physicians have anywhere up to eight years’ experience practicing in hospitals, based on their field, or up to three years in general practice.
Further information are expected shortly.
