Resident Doctors in the UK to Stage Five-Day Walkout in November
Medical professionals in England are preparing to begin a five-day strike in November, due to disputes regarding jobs and pay.
Strike Details
The BMA stated that resident doctors will walk out for five consecutive days from November 14 at 7am to 7am on 19 November.
Junior physicians, who constitute nearly 50% of all medical staff in the National Health Service, are proceeding with the strike after unsuccessful talks with the government.
Causes of the Walkout
Dr Jack Fletcher stated, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have spent the last week in talks with officials, urging the health secretary to end the scandal of doctors going unemployed.”
“Our survey reveals half of second-year doctors in the UK are struggling to find jobs, their talents being unused whilst countless individuals wait endlessly for treatment and shifts in hospitals remain vacant. This cannot continue.”
He continued, “We talked with the government in good faith, keen for the health secretary to understand that a deal offering solutions to slowly restore the pay reductions over a number of years, providing recent graduates a raise of only £1 per hour for the coming four years.”
“We trusted the authorities would recognize that our demands are not just reasonable but are in the best interests of the public and our those we treat and would also help stop our physicians departing from the NHS.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Junior physicians have as much as eight years of experience practicing in hospitals, based on their field, or up to three years in general practice.
More details are expected shortly.
