Resident Doctors in the UK to Begin Five-Day Walkout Next Month
Medical professionals in England are preparing to begin a five consecutive day strike next month, due to disputes regarding pay and employment.
Walkout Information
The British Medical Association (BMA) announced that resident doctors will walk out 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 proceeding with the strike after failed negotiations with the government.
Causes of the Walkout
Dr Jack Fletcher stated, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have been negotiating for the past week with government, urging the health minister to end the crisis of unemployed physicians.”
“Our survey reveals 50% of second-year physicians in England are struggling to find jobs, their skills going to waste whilst millions of patients endure long waits for care 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 see that a agreement including options to gradually reverse the pay reductions over a number of years, providing recent graduates a raise of only £1 per hour for the coming four years.”
“We hoped the authorities would recognize 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 physicians departing from the health service.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Resident doctors have anywhere up to eight years’ experience working as a hospital doctor, based on their field, or as many as three years in primary care.
Further information are expected soon.
