Resident Doctors in the UK to Begin Five Consecutive Day Strike in November
Medical professionals in England are set to stage a five-day walkout in November, due to disputes regarding jobs and pay.
Strike Details
The BMA announced that resident doctors will walk out for five days in a row from November 14 at 7am to November 19 at 7am.
Junior physicians, who constitute about half of all doctors in the National Health Service, are proceeding with the strike after failed negotiations with the health department.
Causes of the Walkout
Dr Jack Fletcher stated, “We did not want to reach this point. We have been negotiating for the past week with officials, pressing the health secretary to resolve the scandal of unemployed physicians.”
“We know from our own survey half of second-year doctors in England are struggling to find jobs, their talents being unused whilst countless individuals endure long waits for care and hospital shifts go unfilled. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He added, “We negotiated sincerely, keen for the health secretary to understand that a deal including options to slowly restore the pay reductions over a number of years, giving recent graduates a pay increase of only £1 per hour for the coming four years.”
“We trusted the government would see that our demands are not just fair but are in the best interests of the public and our those we treat and would also help stop our doctors leaving the NHS.”
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 general practice.
More details are expected soon.
