Junior Physicians in the UK to Begin Five Consecutive Day Walkout in November
Doctors in the UK are preparing to stage a five-day walkout in November, in protest over jobs and pay.
Strike Details
The BMA stated that junior physicians will strike for five days in a row from 7am on 14 November to 7am on 19 November.
Resident doctors, who make up about half of all medical staff in the NHS, are proceeding with the strike after unsuccessful talks with the government.
Reasons Behind the Strike
The chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee commented, “We did not want to reach this point. We have spent the last week in talks with officials, urging the health secretary 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 endure long waits for care 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 health secretary to see that a deal offering solutions to slowly restore the cuts to pay over a number of years, providing recent graduates a raise of only £1 per hour for the next four years.”
“We trusted the authorities 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 stop our physicians departing from the NHS.”
About Resident Doctors
Resident doctors have as much as eight years of experience working as a hospital doctor, depending on their specialty, or as many as three years in general practice.
More details will follow soon.
