Resident Doctors in the UK to Begin Five Consecutive Day Walkout in November
Medical professionals in England are set to begin a five-day strike in November, due to disputes regarding jobs and pay.
Strike Details
The British Medical Association (BMA) stated that junior physicians will strike for five consecutive days from 7am on 14 November to 7am on 19 November.
Resident doctors, who make up about half of all doctors in the National Health Service, are taking this action after unsuccessful talks with the government.
Causes of the Walkout
The chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee stated, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have spent the last week in talks with officials, pressing the health secretary to end the crisis of doctors going unemployed.”
“Our survey reveals 50% of second-year physicians in England are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst millions of patients wait endlessly for treatment and shifts in hospitals go unfilled. This cannot continue.”
He added, “We negotiated sincerely, keen for the minister to understand that a deal offering solutions to gradually reverse the pay reductions over a number of years, providing recent graduates a raise of only £1 per hour for the next four years.”
“We trusted the government would recognize that our demands are not just fair but are in the interest of the public and our patients and would also help prevent our doctors leaving the health service.”
About Resident Doctors
Junior physicians have anywhere up to eight years’ experience practicing in hospitals, based on their field, or up to three years in primary care.
Further information will follow soon.
