Junior Physicians in the UK to Stage Five Consecutive Day Walkout Next Month
Medical professionals in England are set to stage a five-day walkout in November, due to disputes regarding pay and employment.
Strike Details
The BMA announced that junior physicians will strike 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 NHS, are taking this action 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, pressing the health minister to resolve the scandal of unemployed physicians.”
“We know from our own survey half of second-year doctors in England are facing unemployment, their skills going to waste whilst millions of patients endure long waits for care and hospital shifts go unfilled. This cannot continue.”
He continued, “We talked with the government in good faith, keen for the health secretary to understand that a deal including options to slowly restore the cuts to pay over a number of years, providing recent graduates a pay increase of just a pound an hour for the next four years.”
“We trusted the government would see 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 doctors leaving the health service.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Resident doctors have as much as eight years of experience working as a hospital doctor, based on their field, or as many as three years in general practice.
Further information are expected shortly.
