Resident Physicians in England to Stage Five Consecutive Day Walkout in November
Medical professionals in the UK are preparing to stage a five consecutive day strike in November, due to disputes regarding pay and employment.
Walkout Information
The British Medical Association (BMA) stated that resident doctors will strike for five days in a row from 7am on 14 November to November 19 at 7am.
Resident doctors, who make up nearly 50% of all medical staff in the NHS, are proceeding with the strike after failed negotiations with the government.
Causes of the Walkout
The chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee stated, “We did not want to reach this point. We have been negotiating for the past week with officials, pressing the health secretary to resolve the scandal of unemployed physicians.”
“Our survey reveals 50% of second-year physicians in the UK are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst millions of patients endure long waits for care and hospital shifts remain vacant. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He added, “We talked with the government in good faith, hoping the health secretary to see that a deal including options to gradually reverse the cuts to pay over several years, giving newly trained doctors a raise of just a pound an hour for the coming four years.”
“We trusted the government would recognize that our demands are not just reasonable but are in the interest of the public and our patients and would also help stop our doctors departing from the NHS.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Junior physicians have as much as eight years of experience working as a hospital doctor, based on their field, or up to three years in primary care.
Further information will follow shortly.
