Junior Physicians in the UK to Begin Five Consecutive Day Strike Next Month
Medical professionals in the UK are set to stage a five-day strike next month, in protest over pay and employment.
Strike Details
The 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 about half of all doctors in the National Health Service, are proceeding with the strike after unsuccessful talks with the government.
Causes of the Walkout
Dr Jack Fletcher stated, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have been negotiating for the past week with government, urging the health secretary to end the scandal of unemployed physicians.”
“Our survey reveals 50% of second-year physicians in England are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst countless individuals wait endlessly for treatment and hospital shifts go unfilled. This cannot continue.”
He continued, “We talked with the government in good faith, keen for the minister to see that a agreement including options to slowly restore the cuts to pay over a number of years, providing recent graduates a raise of just a pound an hour for the next four years.”
“We trusted the authorities would see that our demands are not just reasonable but are in the best interests of the public and our patients and would also help stop our physicians leaving the NHS.”
About Resident Doctors
Resident doctors have as much as eight years of experience working as a hospital doctor, based on their field, or up to three years in general practice.
More details will follow soon.
