Resident Doctors in England to Begin Five Consecutive Day Walkout Next Month
Doctors in England are set to begin a five-day walkout in November, in protest over pay and employment.
Walkout Information
The British Medical Association (BMA) stated that junior physicians will strike for five consecutive days from 7am on 14 November to November 19 at 7am.
Junior physicians, who make up about half of all doctors in the National Health Service, are taking this action after failed negotiations with the health department.
Reasons Behind the Strike
Dr Jack Fletcher commented, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have spent the last week in talks with officials, urging the health minister to resolve the scandal of doctors going unemployed.”
“Our survey reveals half of second-year doctors in the UK are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst countless individuals endure long waits for care and hospital shifts go unfilled. This cannot continue.”
He continued, “We negotiated sincerely, keen for the health secretary 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 next four years.”
“We hoped the government would recognize that our demands are not just reasonable but are in the best interests of the community and our those we treat and would also help stop our physicians departing from the NHS.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Junior physicians have anywhere up to eight years’ experience working as a hospital doctor, depending on their specialty, or up to three years in general practice.
More details are expected shortly.
