Junior Physicians in the UK to Begin Five Consecutive Day Walkout Next Month
Medical professionals in England are set to stage a five-day strike next month, due to disputes regarding pay and employment.
Strike Details
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 doctors in the National Health Service, are proceeding with the strike after unsuccessful talks with the government.
Causes of the Walkout
Dr Jack Fletcher commented, “We did not want to reach this point. We have spent the last week in talks with officials, pressing the health secretary to resolve the crisis of unemployed physicians.”
“Our survey reveals 50% of second-year physicians in the UK are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst millions of patients wait endlessly for treatment and shifts in hospitals remain vacant. This cannot continue.”
He added, “We talked with the government in good faith, keen for the minister to understand that a agreement including options to gradually reverse the cuts to pay over several years, providing newly trained doctors a pay increase of only £1 per hour for the next four years.”
“We hoped the government would recognize that our asks are not just fair but are in the best interests of the community and our those we treat and would also help prevent our physicians leaving the NHS.”
About Resident Doctors
Junior physicians have as much as eight years of experience practicing in hospitals, based on their field, or as many as three years in primary care.
More details will follow soon.
