Junior Doctors in England to Launch Five Consecutive Day Strike Next Month
Doctors in the UK are preparing to stage 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 7am on 14 November to November 19 at 7am.
Resident doctors, who constitute about half of all doctors in the NHS, are proceeding with the strike after unsuccessful talks with the health department.
Causes of the Walkout
Dr Jack Fletcher stated, “We did not want to reach this point. We have been negotiating for the past week with officials, urging the health minister to resolve the scandal of unemployed physicians.”
“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 go unfilled. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He continued, “We talked with the government in good faith, keen for the health secretary to understand that a agreement offering solutions to gradually reverse the cuts to pay over several years, giving newly trained doctors a pay increase of only £1 per hour for the coming four years.”
“We trusted the authorities would recognize that our asks are not just reasonable 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?
Resident doctors have anywhere up to eight years’ experience working as a hospital doctor, depending on their specialty, or up to three years in primary care.
More details are expected soon.
