Junior Physicians in England to Begin Five-Day Walkout Next Month
Doctors in the UK are set to begin a five-day walkout in November, in protest over pay and employment.
Walkout Information
The British Medical Association (BMA) stated that junior physicians will walk out for five days in a row from 7am on 14 November to 7am on 19 November.
Junior physicians, who make up about half of all medical staff in the NHS, are proceeding with the strike after unsuccessful talks with the government.
Reasons Behind the Strike
Dr Jack Fletcher stated, “We did not want to reach this point. We have been negotiating for the past week with officials, urging the health minister to resolve the scandal of unemployed physicians.”
“We know from our own survey 50% of second-year physicians in the UK are struggling to find jobs, their talents being unused whilst millions of patients endure long waits for care and hospital shifts go unfilled. This cannot continue.”
He continued, “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 several years, providing newly trained doctors a raise of just a pound an hour for the next four years.”
“We trusted the authorities would recognize that our asks are not just reasonable but are in the best interests of the public and our those we treat and would also help prevent 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, based on their field, or as many as three years in primary care.
Further information are expected shortly.
