Medical professionals in the UK are preparing to begin a five consecutive day walkout in November, in protest over jobs and pay.
Strike Details
The BMA stated that junior physicians will strike for five consecutive days from 7am on 14 November to November 19 at 7am.
Resident doctors, who constitute nearly 50% of all medical staff in the National Health Service, are taking this action after failed negotiations with the government.
Causes of the Walkout
Dr Jack Fletcher commented, “We did not want to reach this point. We have spent the last week in talks with government, urging the health secretary to end the scandal of doctors going unemployed.”
“Our survey reveals 50% of second-year physicians in England are struggling to find jobs, their skills going to waste whilst millions of patients wait endlessly for treatment and shifts in hospitals go unfilled. This cannot continue.”
He added, “We negotiated sincerely, keen for the health secretary to understand that a agreement including options to gradually reverse the cuts to pay over a number of years, giving newly trained doctors a pay increase of just a pound an hour for the next four years.”
“We hoped the authorities would recognize that our demands are not just reasonable but are in the interest of the public and our those we treat and would also help stop our doctors leaving the NHS.”
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 primary care.
More details are expected shortly.
