Junior Physicians in the UK to Stage Five-Day Walkout Next Month
Doctors in England are set to stage a five consecutive day walkout in November, in protest over pay and employment.
Walkout Information
The British Medical Association (BMA) announced that junior physicians will walk out for five consecutive days from November 14 at 7am to November 19 at 7am.
Junior physicians, who make up nearly 50% of all medical staff in the National Health Service, are taking this action after unsuccessful talks with the government.
Reasons Behind the Strike
Dr Jack Fletcher commented, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have spent the last week in talks with officials, urging the health secretary to resolve the crisis of unemployed physicians.”
“Our survey reveals 50% of second-year physicians in England are facing unemployment, their skills going to waste whilst millions of patients endure long waits for care and shifts in hospitals remain vacant. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He added, “We negotiated sincerely, keen for the minister to understand that a agreement offering solutions to slowly restore the pay reductions over several years, giving newly trained doctors a raise of only £1 per hour for the coming four years.”
“We hoped the government would recognize that our demands are not just reasonable but are in the best interests of the community and our those we treat and would also help stop our physicians leaving the NHS.”
About Resident Doctors
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 will follow shortly.
