Junior Doctors in England to Stage Five Consecutive Day Walkout Next Month
Medical professionals in the UK are preparing to begin a five consecutive day walkout in November, in protest over pay and employment.
Walkout Information
The British Medical Association (BMA) stated that resident doctors will strike for five consecutive days from November 14 at 7am to 7am on 19 November.
Resident doctors, who constitute nearly 50% of all medical staff in the NHS, are taking this action after unsuccessful talks with the government.
Reasons Behind the Strike
The chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee commented, “We did not want to reach this point. We have spent the last week in talks with government, pressing the health secretary to end the crisis of doctors going unemployed.”
“Our survey reveals half of second-year doctors in England are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst millions of patients wait endlessly for treatment and hospital shifts remain vacant. This cannot continue.”
He continued, “We talked with the government in good faith, hoping the minister to understand that a agreement including options to gradually reverse the pay reductions over several years, providing newly trained doctors a raise of only £1 per hour for the next four years.”
“We trusted the government would recognize that our demands are not just reasonable but are in the interest of the community and our those we treat and would also help prevent our doctors leaving 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 up to three years in general practice.
Further information are expected shortly.