Resident 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 next month, in protest over pay and employment.
Walkout Information
The British Medical Association (BMA) stated that resident doctors will walk out for five days in a row from 7am on 14 November to 7am on 19 November.
Junior physicians, who constitute nearly 50% of all doctors in the NHS, are proceeding with the strike after failed negotiations with the government.
Reasons Behind the Strike
Dr Jack Fletcher stated, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have spent the last week in talks with government, pressing the health minister to resolve the crisis of doctors going unemployed.”
“Our survey reveals 50% of second-year physicians in the UK are struggling to find jobs, their skills going to waste whilst countless individuals wait endlessly for treatment and hospital shifts remain vacant. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He added, “We talked with the government in good faith, keen for the minister to understand that a deal offering solutions to slowly restore the cuts to pay over a number of years, providing newly trained doctors a raise of only £1 per hour for the coming four years.”
“We hoped the authorities would recognize that our demands are not just fair but are in the interest of the public and our patients and would also help stop our physicians departing from the NHS.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Junior physicians 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 shortly.
