Junior Physicians in the UK to Stage Five Consecutive Day Strike in November
Medical professionals in the UK are preparing to stage a five consecutive day walkout 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 November 14 at 7am to November 19 at 7am.
Junior physicians, who constitute nearly 50% of all doctors in the National Health Service, 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 secretary to end the scandal of unemployed physicians.”
“We know from our own survey half of second-year doctors in England are facing unemployment, their skills going to waste whilst countless individuals endure long waits for care and hospital shifts remain vacant. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He added, “We negotiated sincerely, hoping the minister to understand that a agreement including options to slowly restore the cuts to pay over several years, providing recent graduates a pay increase of only £1 per hour for the coming four years.”
“We trusted the government would see that our asks are not just reasonable but are in the interest of the public and our patients and would also help prevent our doctors leaving the health service.”
About Resident Doctors
Junior physicians 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.
More details are expected soon.
