Junior Physicians in the UK to Stage Five Consecutive Day Strike in November
Medical professionals in the UK are preparing to begin a five consecutive day walkout in November, in protest over pay and employment.
Walkout Information
The British Medical Association (BMA) announced that resident doctors will strike for five days in a row from November 14 at 7am to 7am on 19 November.
Junior physicians, who constitute about half of all doctors in the National Health Service, are proceeding with the strike after unsuccessful talks with the government.
Reasons Behind the Strike
The chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee commented, “We did not want to reach this point. We have been negotiating for the past week with officials, urging the health secretary to end the scandal of unemployed physicians.”
“Our survey reveals half of second-year doctors in the UK are struggling to find jobs, their skills going to waste whilst countless individuals endure long waits for care and shifts in hospitals remain vacant. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He added, “We negotiated sincerely, keen for the minister to see that a deal offering solutions to slowly restore the pay reductions over several years, giving newly trained doctors a raise of just a pound an hour for the next four years.”
“We trusted the authorities would see that our asks are not just reasonable but are in the best interests of the community and our those we treat and would also help stop our doctors leaving 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 up to three years in primary care.
More details will follow soon.
