Junior Doctors in the UK to Launch Five Consecutive Day Strike Next Month
Doctors in England are preparing to stage a five-day strike in November, due to disputes regarding jobs and pay.
Strike Details
The British Medical Association (BMA) stated that resident doctors will walk out for five consecutive days from November 14 at 7am to November 19 at 7am.
Junior physicians, who constitute nearly 50% of all doctors in the NHS, are proceeding with the strike after failed negotiations with the government.
Causes of the Walkout
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 scandal of doctors going unemployed.”
“We know from our own survey half of second-year doctors in England are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst millions of patients endure long waits for care and shifts in hospitals go unfilled. This cannot continue.”
He continued, “We negotiated sincerely, hoping the health secretary to see that a deal offering solutions to slowly restore the pay reductions over a number of years, providing recent graduates a pay increase of just a pound an hour for the next four years.”
“We hoped the authorities would see that our asks are not just reasonable but are in the best interests of the public and our patients and would also help prevent our doctors departing from the health service.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Resident doctors have as much as eight years of experience practicing in hospitals, based on their field, or as many as three years in general practice.
More details are expected soon.
