Resident Physicians in the UK to Launch Five-Day Walkout Next Month
Doctors in England are set to stage a five-day walkout in November, due to disputes regarding jobs and pay.
Walkout Information
The British Medical Association (BMA) stated that resident doctors will walk out for five days in a row from 7am on 14 November to 7am on 19 November.
Resident doctors, who constitute nearly 50% of all doctors in the NHS, are proceeding with the strike after unsuccessful talks with the government.
Reasons Behind the Strike
Dr Jack Fletcher stated, “We did not want to reach this point. We have been negotiating for the past week with government, urging the health secretary to end the scandal of doctors going unemployed.”
“We know from our own survey 50% of second-year physicians in England are struggling to find jobs, their talents being unused whilst countless individuals endure long waits for care and hospital shifts go unfilled. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He added, “We talked with the government in good faith, hoping the minister to see that a deal offering solutions to slowly restore the cuts to pay over several years, giving newly trained doctors a raise of only £1 per hour for the next 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 physicians departing from the health service.”
About Resident Doctors
Resident doctors have anywhere up to eight years’ experience working as a hospital doctor, based on their field, or up to three years in primary care.
More details will follow soon.
