Resident Physicians in the UK to Stage Five Consecutive Day Strike in November
Doctors in the UK are preparing to begin a five consecutive day walkout in November, due to disputes regarding jobs and pay.
Strike Details
The BMA stated that junior physicians will strike for five consecutive days from November 14 at 7am to November 19 at 7am.
Junior physicians, who constitute about half of all medical staff in the NHS, are taking this action after unsuccessful talks with the government.
Causes of the Walkout
The chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee commented, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have been negotiating for the past week with officials, urging the health secretary to end the scandal of doctors going unemployed.”
“Our survey reveals 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 minister to see that a agreement including options to slowly restore the cuts to pay over several years, providing recent graduates a raise of just a pound an hour for the next four years.”
“We hoped the government would see that our asks are not just reasonable but are in the best interests of the public and our patients and would also help stop our doctors leaving the health service.”
About Resident Doctors
Resident doctors have anywhere up to eight years’ experience working as a hospital doctor, depending on their specialty, or up to three years in general practice.
Further information are expected shortly.
