Junior Physicians in the UK to Launch Five Consecutive Day Strike Next Month
Doctors in England are preparing to begin a five consecutive day walkout next month, due to disputes regarding pay and employment.
Strike Details
The British Medical Association (BMA) announced that junior physicians will walk out for five days in a row from November 14 at 7am to 7am on 19 November.
Resident doctors, who constitute nearly 50% of all medical staff in the NHS, are proceeding with the strike after failed negotiations with the government.
Reasons Behind the Strike
Dr Jack Fletcher stated, “We did not want to reach this point. We have spent the last week in talks with government, pressing the health minister to resolve the crisis of doctors going unemployed.”
“We know from our own survey half of second-year doctors in the UK are struggling to find jobs, their talents being unused whilst countless individuals wait endlessly for treatment and shifts in hospitals go unfilled. This cannot continue.”
He added, “We negotiated sincerely, keen for the health secretary to see that a agreement offering solutions to slowly restore the cuts to pay over several years, giving newly trained doctors a raise of only £1 per hour for the coming four years.”
“We trusted the authorities would see that our demands are not just fair but are in the best interests of the public and our those we treat and would also help prevent our doctors departing from the health service.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Resident doctors have anywhere up to eight years’ experience working as a hospital doctor, depending on their specialty, or up to three years in general practice.
Further information will follow shortly.
