Junior Physicians in the UK to Launch Five Consecutive Day Walkout in November
Doctors in the UK are preparing to stage a five-day walkout in November, due to disputes regarding pay and employment.
Strike Details
The British Medical Association (BMA) stated that resident doctors will strike for five consecutive days from 7am on 14 November to 7am on 19 November.
Junior physicians, who constitute about half of all medical staff in the NHS, are proceeding with the strike after unsuccessful talks with the health department.
Reasons Behind the Strike
The chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee commented, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have spent the last week in talks with government, urging the health secretary to resolve the crisis of doctors going unemployed.”
“We know from our own survey 50% of second-year physicians in the UK are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst millions of patients endure long waits for care and hospital shifts go unfilled. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He continued, “We negotiated sincerely, keen for the minister to understand that a agreement including options to slowly restore the cuts to pay over a number of years, giving recent graduates a pay increase of only £1 per hour for the coming four years.”
“We trusted the government would recognize that our asks are not just fair but are in the interest of the community and our those we treat and would also help stop our physicians leaving the health service.”
About Resident Doctors
Junior physicians have anywhere up to eight years’ experience working as a hospital doctor, based on their field, or as many as three years in general practice.
More details are expected shortly.