Junior Physicians in England to Begin Five-Day Walkout in November
Doctors in England are preparing to begin a five-day strike in November, due to disputes regarding jobs and pay.
Strike Details
The British Medical Association (BMA) stated that resident doctors will walk out for five consecutive days from 7am on 14 November to 7am on 19 November.
Resident doctors, who make up 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
Dr Jack Fletcher commented, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have spent the last week in talks with government, urging the health minister to resolve the crisis of unemployed physicians.”
“We know from our own survey 50% of second-year physicians in the UK are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst countless individuals endure long waits for care and hospital shifts go unfilled. This cannot continue.”
He continued, “We negotiated sincerely, keen for the health secretary to understand that a agreement including options to slowly restore the pay reductions over several years, providing newly trained doctors a pay increase of only £1 per hour for the next four years.”
“We hoped the government would see that our asks are not just fair but are in the interest of the public and our patients and would also help prevent our doctors departing from the health service.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Junior physicians have anywhere up to eight years’ experience practicing in hospitals, depending on their specialty, or up to three years in primary care.
Further information will follow shortly.
