Junior Doctors in England to Begin Five Consecutive Day Walkout in November
Medical professionals in England are preparing to stage a five-day strike in November, in protest over pay and employment.
Walkout Information
The BMA announced that junior physicians will strike for five days in a row from November 14 at 7am to November 19 at 7am.
Resident doctors, who make up about half of all medical staff in the National Health Service, are taking this action after failed negotiations with the health department.
Causes of the Walkout
Dr Jack Fletcher stated, “We did not want to reach this point. We have spent the last week in talks with government, pressing the health minister to end the crisis of unemployed physicians.”
“Our survey reveals half of second-year doctors in the UK are facing unemployment, their skills going to waste whilst millions of patients wait endlessly for treatment and shifts in hospitals go unfilled. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He continued, “We negotiated sincerely, keen for the health secretary to see that a deal including options to slowly restore the cuts to pay over a number of years, giving recent graduates a pay increase 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 patients and would also help stop our doctors departing from the health service.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Resident doctors 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 are expected shortly.
