Resident Doctors in England to Stage Five Consecutive Day Strike in November
Doctors in the UK are preparing to stage a five consecutive day walkout in November, in protest over jobs and pay.
Walkout Information
The BMA announced that junior physicians will walk out for five days in a row from November 14 at 7am to 7am on 19 November.
Resident doctors, who make up nearly 50% of all medical staff in the National Health Service, are proceeding with the strike after failed negotiations with the health department.
Reasons Behind the Strike
Dr Jack Fletcher commented, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have spent the last week in talks with officials, pressing the health secretary to resolve the scandal of unemployed physicians.”
“Our survey reveals 50% of second-year physicians in the UK are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst countless individuals endure long waits for care and shifts in hospitals go unfilled. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He continued, “We talked with the government in good faith, keen for the minister to understand that a deal offering solutions to gradually reverse the cuts to pay over a number of years, providing newly trained doctors a raise of only £1 per hour for the next four years.”
“We hoped the authorities would see that our asks are not just reasonable but are in the best interests of the public and our patients and would also help prevent our doctors leaving the NHS.”
About Resident Doctors
Resident doctors have as much as eight years of experience practicing in hospitals, based on their field, or as many as three years in general practice.
More details will follow shortly.
