Resident Doctors in England to Begin Five Consecutive Day Strike Next Month
Doctors in England are preparing to begin a five-day strike next month, in protest over jobs and pay.
Walkout Information
The British Medical Association (BMA) stated that junior physicians will walk out for five days in a row from November 14 at 7am to 7am on 19 November.
Junior physicians, who constitute nearly 50% of all doctors 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, “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 scandal of unemployed physicians.”
“Our survey reveals 50% of second-year physicians in England are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst millions of patients endure long waits for care and shifts in hospitals remain vacant. This cannot continue.”
He added, “We negotiated sincerely, hoping the minister to understand that a agreement offering solutions to slowly restore the pay reductions over several years, providing newly trained doctors a pay increase of only £1 per hour for the coming four years.”
“We hoped the government would recognize that our asks are not just fair but are in the interest of the public and our patients and would also help prevent our physicians leaving the health service.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Resident doctors have anywhere up to eight years’ experience working as a hospital doctor, depending on their specialty, or as many as three years in general practice.
More details will follow shortly.
