Resident Doctors in England to Begin Five Consecutive Day Walkout in November
Medical professionals in the UK are set to begin a five consecutive day walkout next month, due to disputes regarding pay and employment.
Walkout Information
The BMA stated that junior physicians will walk out for five consecutive days from November 14 at 7am to 7am on 19 November.
Junior physicians, who constitute nearly 50% of all medical staff in the National Health Service, 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 officials, urging the health minister to resolve the crisis of doctors going unemployed.”
“We know from our own survey 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 go unfilled. This cannot continue.”
He added, “We negotiated sincerely, hoping the health secretary to understand that a agreement including options to gradually reverse the pay reductions over several years, providing recent graduates a raise of only £1 per hour for the coming four years.”
“We hoped the government would see that our asks are not just fair but are in the interest of the community and our patients and would also help stop our doctors departing from the health service.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Junior physicians have as much as eight years of experience working as a hospital doctor, based on their field, or as many as three years in general practice.
More details are expected soon.
