Junior Doctors in England to Launch Five Consecutive Day Strike Next Month
Medical professionals in the UK are preparing to stage a five-day strike next month, due to disputes regarding pay and employment.
Walkout Information
The British Medical Association (BMA) announced that junior physicians will strike for five consecutive days from 7am on 14 November to November 19 at 7am.
Junior physicians, who constitute nearly 50% of all medical staff in the National Health Service, are taking this action after failed negotiations with the health department.
Causes of the Walkout
The chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee commented, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have spent the last week in talks with government, pressing the health minister to resolve the crisis of doctors going unemployed.”
“We know from our own survey 50% of second-year physicians in England are struggling to find jobs, their skills going to waste whilst millions of patients endure long waits for care and hospital shifts remain vacant. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He continued, “We talked with the government in good faith, keen for the minister to understand that a agreement including options to slowly restore the cuts to pay over a number of years, giving newly trained doctors a raise of only £1 per hour for the coming four years.”
“We trusted the government would recognize that our demands are not just fair but are in the interest of the public and our patients and would also help stop our physicians departing from the NHS.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Resident doctors have as much as eight years of experience working as a hospital doctor, depending on their specialty, or up to three years in general practice.
Further information are expected shortly.