Resident Doctors in the UK to Launch Five-Day Walkout Next Month
Doctors in England are set to begin a five-day strike next month, due to disputes regarding jobs and pay.
Walkout Information
The British Medical Association (BMA) announced that resident doctors will walk out for five days in a row from November 14 at 7am to 7am on 19 November.
Junior physicians, who make up nearly 50% of all doctors in the National Health Service, are proceeding with the strike after failed negotiations with the government.
Causes of the Walkout
Dr Jack Fletcher commented, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have been negotiating for the past week with officials, pressing the health secretary to resolve the scandal of unemployed physicians.”
“Our survey reveals half of second-year doctors in England are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst millions of patients endure long waits for care and hospital shifts go unfilled. This cannot continue.”
He continued, “We talked with the government in good faith, hoping the health secretary to understand that a deal including options to gradually reverse the pay reductions over several years, giving recent graduates a pay increase of only £1 per hour for the coming four years.”
“We trusted the government would recognize that our asks are not just fair but are in the interest of the community and our those we treat and would also help prevent our doctors departing from the health service.”
About Resident Doctors
Junior physicians have as much as eight years of experience practicing in hospitals, based on their field, or as many as three years in primary care.
Further information are expected shortly.
