Resident Physicians in the UK to Stage Five-Day Walkout Next Month
Doctors in the UK are set to begin a five-day walkout in November, due to disputes regarding jobs and pay.
Walkout Information
The British Medical Association (BMA) stated that junior physicians will walk out for five days in a row from 7am on 14 November to 7am on 19 November.
Resident doctors, who constitute nearly 50% of all doctors in the NHS, are taking this action after failed negotiations with the health department.
Reasons Behind the Strike
The chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee stated, “We did not want to reach this point. We have spent the last week in talks with officials, urging the health minister to resolve the scandal of unemployed physicians.”
“Our survey reveals 50% of second-year physicians in England are facing unemployment, their talents being unused 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 talked with the government in good faith, keen for the minister to understand that a deal offering solutions to slowly restore the pay reductions over a number of years, providing newly trained doctors a raise of only £1 per hour for the coming four years.”
“We trusted the authorities would see that our asks are not just reasonable but are in the interest of the community and our patients and would also help stop our doctors departing from the NHS.”
About Resident Doctors
Junior physicians have anywhere up to eight years’ experience practicing in hospitals, based on their field, or up to three years in general practice.
More details will follow shortly.
