Junior Physicians in the UK to Begin Five Consecutive Day Walkout Next Month
Medical professionals in England are preparing to stage a five-day walkout in November, in protest over jobs and pay.
Walkout Information
The BMA announced that resident doctors will strike for five days in a row from 7am on 14 November to 7am on 19 November.
Junior physicians, who constitute about half of all doctors in the National Health Service, are proceeding with the strike after unsuccessful talks with the health department.
Causes of the Walkout
Dr Jack Fletcher stated, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have been negotiating for the past week with officials, urging the health secretary to resolve the scandal of unemployed physicians.”
“We know from our own survey 50% of second-year physicians in England are struggling to find jobs, their skills going to waste whilst millions of patients endure long waits for care and hospital shifts remain vacant. This cannot continue.”
He continued, “We negotiated sincerely, keen for the minister to understand that a deal including options to gradually reverse the cuts to pay over a number of years, giving recent graduates a raise of just a pound an hour for the coming four years.”
“We hoped the authorities would see that our asks are not just fair but are in the best interests of the community and our those we treat and would also help stop our doctors leaving the health service.”
About Resident Doctors
Junior physicians have anywhere up to eight years’ experience practicing in hospitals, based on their field, or as many as three years in general practice.
Further information are expected shortly.
