Junior Physicians in England to Begin Five Consecutive Day Strike Next Month
Medical professionals in the UK are preparing to begin a five-day strike next month, in protest over jobs and pay.
Strike Details
The BMA stated that junior physicians will walk out for five days in a row from 7am on 14 November to November 19 at 7am.
Junior physicians, who make up 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 commented, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have been negotiating for the past week with officials, pressing the health minister to resolve the crisis of unemployed physicians.”
“We know from our own survey 50% of second-year physicians in the UK are struggling to find jobs, their skills going to waste whilst countless individuals endure long waits for care and hospital shifts go unfilled. This cannot continue.”
He continued, “We negotiated sincerely, hoping the minister to see that a deal offering solutions to gradually reverse the pay reductions over a number of years, giving newly trained doctors a pay increase of only £1 per hour for the coming four years.”
“We trusted the government would recognize that our asks are not just reasonable but are in the interest of the public and our those we treat and would also help prevent our physicians departing from the health service.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Resident doctors have as much as eight years of experience working as a hospital doctor, depending on their specialty, or as many as three years in general practice.
Further information will follow shortly.
