Resident Physicians in England to Begin Five-Day Strike in November
Medical professionals in the UK are preparing to begin a five-day strike in November, in protest over jobs and pay.
Strike Details
The BMA announced that resident doctors will strike for five consecutive days from November 14 at 7am to November 19 at 7am.
Junior physicians, who make up nearly 50% of all doctors in the National Health Service, are taking this action after failed negotiations with the government.
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 minister to end the scandal of unemployed physicians.”
“Our survey reveals 50% of second-year physicians in England are facing unemployment, their skills going to waste whilst millions of patients endure long waits for care and hospital shifts remain vacant. This cannot continue.”
He added, “We negotiated sincerely, hoping the minister to see that a deal including options to gradually reverse the pay reductions over a number of years, giving recent graduates a pay increase of just a pound an hour for the coming four years.”
“We hoped the authorities would recognize that our demands are not just fair but are in the interest of the community and our those we treat and would also help stop our doctors departing from the health service.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Resident doctors have anywhere up to eight years’ experience practicing in hospitals, based on their field, or up to three years in general practice.
More details are expected shortly.
