Resident Doctors in the UK to Launch Five Consecutive Day Walkout in November
Doctors in England are set to begin a five consecutive day walkout next month, due to disputes regarding pay and employment.
Strike Details
The British Medical Association (BMA) stated that resident doctors will strike for five consecutive days from 7am on 14 November to 7am on 19 November.
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 commented, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have been negotiating for the past week with government, pressing the health minister to resolve the scandal of doctors going unemployed.”
“Our survey reveals 50% of second-year physicians in England are facing unemployment, their skills going to waste whilst countless individuals wait endlessly for treatment and hospital shifts go unfilled. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He added, “We negotiated sincerely, hoping the health secretary to understand that a deal offering solutions to slowly restore the pay reductions over several years, giving recent graduates a raise of only £1 per hour for the next four years.”
“We hoped the authorities would see 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 prevent our doctors leaving the health service.”
About Resident Doctors
Junior physicians have anywhere up to eight years’ experience practicing in hospitals, based on their field, or as many as three years in general practice.
Further information are expected shortly.
