Resident Doctors in the UK to Begin Five Consecutive Day Strike Next Month
Medical professionals in the UK are preparing to stage a five consecutive day walkout next month, in protest over pay and employment.
Walkout Information
The BMA stated that junior physicians will strike for five days in a row from 7am on 14 November to 7am on 19 November.
Junior physicians, who constitute nearly 50% of all medical staff in the National Health Service, are taking this action after failed negotiations with the health department.
Causes of the Walkout
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 scandal of unemployed physicians.”
“Our survey reveals half of second-year doctors in England are struggling to find jobs, their skills going to waste whilst millions of patients endure long waits for care and hospital shifts go unfilled. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He added, “We negotiated sincerely, hoping the health secretary to understand that a deal offering solutions to slowly restore the pay reductions over a number of years, giving recent graduates a raise of just a pound an hour for the coming four years.”
“We trusted the government would see that our demands are not just reasonable but are in the interest of the community and our those we treat and would also help prevent our physicians departing from the health service.”
About Resident Doctors
Resident doctors have as much as eight years of experience practicing in hospitals, based on their field, or up to three years in primary care.
More details are expected shortly.
