Junior Physicians in the UK to Begin Five Consecutive Day Strike Next Month
Doctors in England are preparing to stage a five consecutive day walkout in November, due to disputes regarding pay and employment.
Walkout Information
The BMA stated that junior physicians will strike for five consecutive days from November 14 at 7am to November 19 at 7am.
Resident doctors, who constitute nearly 50% of all doctors in the NHS, are taking this action after failed negotiations with the health department.
Reasons Behind the Strike
The chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee commented, “We did not want to reach this point. We have been negotiating for the past week with officials, urging the health minister to resolve the scandal of doctors going unemployed.”
“Our survey reveals 50% of second-year physicians 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 is a situation which cannot go on.”
He added, “We negotiated sincerely, keen for the minister to understand that a deal including options to gradually reverse the pay reductions over a number of years, giving newly trained doctors 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 reasonable but are in the best interests of the community and our patients and would also help prevent our doctors leaving the health service.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Resident doctors have anywhere up to eight years’ experience practicing in hospitals, based on their field, or as many as three years in general practice.
More details are expected shortly.
