Junior Doctors in England to Begin Five Consecutive Day Walkout in November
Doctors in the UK are set to begin a five consecutive day walkout next month, due to disputes regarding pay and employment.
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.
Junior physicians, who constitute about half of all medical staff in the NHS, 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 stated, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have spent the last week in talks with government, urging the health minister to end the scandal of unemployed physicians.”
“Our survey reveals half of second-year doctors in the UK are struggling to find jobs, their skills going to waste whilst countless individuals endure long waits for care and shifts in hospitals remain vacant. This cannot continue.”
He continued, “We talked with the government in good faith, keen for the health secretary to see that a deal offering solutions to gradually reverse the pay reductions over a number of years, giving newly trained doctors a pay increase of only £1 per hour for the coming four years.”
“We trusted the government would see 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 NHS.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Junior physicians have anywhere up to eight years’ experience working as a hospital doctor, based on their field, or up to three years in primary care.
Further information are expected shortly.
