Junior Physicians in the UK to Stage Five Consecutive Day Walkout Next Month
Doctors in England are set to stage a five consecutive day walkout next month, due to disputes regarding jobs and pay.
Walkout Information
The British Medical Association (BMA) stated that junior physicians will walk out for five consecutive days from 7am on 14 November to 7am on 19 November.
Resident doctors, who make up about half of all doctors in the NHS, are taking this action after failed negotiations with the government.
Reasons Behind the Strike
Dr Jack Fletcher commented, “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 doctors going unemployed.”
“Our survey reveals half of second-year doctors in England are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst millions of patients endure long waits for care and hospital shifts remain vacant. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He continued, “We talked with the government in good faith, keen for the minister to understand that a agreement offering solutions to gradually reverse the cuts to pay over several years, providing recent graduates a raise of just a pound an hour for the coming four years.”
“We trusted 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 leaving the health service.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Resident doctors have anywhere up to eight years’ experience working as a hospital doctor, based on their field, or as many as three years in primary care.
More details will follow shortly.
