Junior Physicians in the UK to Begin Five Consecutive Day Walkout in November
Doctors in the UK are set to begin a five consecutive day walkout next month, due to disputes regarding jobs and pay.
Strike Details
The BMA announced that resident doctors will strike for five consecutive days from November 14 at 7am to 7am on 19 November.
Resident doctors, who make up nearly 50% of all medical staff in the NHS, are proceeding with the strike after failed negotiations with the health department.
Causes of the Walkout
The chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee stated, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have been negotiating for the past week with officials, pressing the health minister to end the crisis of doctors going unemployed.”
“Our survey reveals half of second-year doctors in the UK are facing unemployment, their skills going to waste whilst millions of patients wait endlessly for treatment and shifts in hospitals remain vacant. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He continued, “We talked with the government in good faith, keen for the health secretary to understand that a deal offering solutions to slowly restore the pay reductions over several years, providing recent graduates a pay increase of just a pound an hour for the coming four years.”
“We hoped the authorities would recognize that our demands are not just fair but are in the interest of the community and our those we treat and would also help prevent our doctors departing from the NHS.”
About Resident Doctors
Junior physicians have as much as eight years of experience working as a hospital doctor, based on their field, or up to three years in general practice.
Further information are expected shortly.
