Junior Physicians in the UK to Launch Five-Day Walkout in November
Medical professionals in the UK are preparing to begin a five-day walkout in November, in protest over pay and employment.
Strike Details
The British Medical Association (BMA) announced that resident doctors will strike for five days in a row from November 14 at 7am to 7am on 19 November.
Junior physicians, who make up about half of all doctors in the NHS, are taking this action after unsuccessful talks with the government.
Reasons Behind the Strike
Dr Jack Fletcher stated, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have been negotiating for the past week with government, pressing the health secretary to end the crisis of unemployed physicians.”
“We know from our own survey 50% of second-year physicians in the UK are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst millions of patients wait endlessly for treatment and shifts in hospitals remain vacant. This cannot continue.”
He continued, “We talked with the government in good faith, hoping the health secretary to understand that a deal offering solutions to slowly restore the cuts to pay over several years, giving newly trained doctors a raise of just a pound an hour for the next four years.”
“We trusted the government would recognize 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 prevent our doctors leaving the health service.”
About Resident Doctors
Junior physicians have as much as eight years of experience practicing in hospitals, depending on their specialty, or up to three years in primary care.
Further information will follow shortly.
