Resident Physicians in the UK to Stage Five-Day Strike in November
Doctors in England are preparing to begin a five consecutive day strike next month, in protest over pay and employment.
Strike Details
The British Medical Association (BMA) stated that junior physicians will walk out for five consecutive days from November 14 at 7am to November 19 at 7am.
Resident doctors, who make up nearly 50% of all medical staff in the National Health Service, are taking this action after unsuccessful talks with the health department.
Reasons Behind the Strike
The chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee stated, “We did not want to reach this point. We have spent the last week in talks with government, pressing the health secretary to end the scandal of unemployed physicians.”
“Our survey reveals 50% of second-year physicians in the UK are struggling to find jobs, their talents being unused whilst countless individuals wait endlessly for treatment and hospital shifts go unfilled. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He added, “We talked with the government in good faith, keen for the health secretary to understand that a agreement offering solutions to slowly restore the cuts to pay over a number of years, giving recent graduates a raise of only £1 per hour for the coming four years.”
“We trusted the authorities would recognize that our asks are not just fair but are in the interest of the community and our patients and would also help stop our physicians departing from the health service.”
About Resident Doctors
Resident doctors have anywhere up to eight years’ experience working as a hospital doctor, based on their field, or as many as three years in general practice.
More details will follow soon.
