Junior Doctors in the UK to Launch Five-Day Walkout in November
Doctors in England are set to begin a five-day strike next month, in protest over jobs and pay.
Walkout Information
The BMA stated that junior physicians will walk out for five days in a row from 7am on 14 November to November 19 at 7am.
Resident doctors, who make up about half of all medical staff in the National Health Service, are proceeding with the strike after unsuccessful talks with the health department.
Reasons Behind the Strike
The chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee commented, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have spent the last week in talks with government, urging the health secretary to end the scandal of doctors going unemployed.”
“Our survey reveals 50% of second-year physicians in the UK are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst countless individuals endure long waits for care and shifts in hospitals go unfilled. This cannot continue.”
He continued, “We negotiated sincerely, hoping the minister to see that a agreement including options to slowly restore the pay reductions over several years, providing newly trained doctors a raise of only £1 per hour for the coming four years.”
“We trusted the government would see that our asks are not just fair but are in the interest of the community and our those we treat and would also help stop our physicians leaving the health service.”
About Resident Doctors
Resident doctors have as much as eight years of experience working as a hospital doctor, based on their field, or up to three years in general practice.
Further information will follow shortly.
