Resident Physicians in England to Launch Five Consecutive Day Walkout Next Month
Medical professionals in the UK are preparing to begin a five-day strike in November, in protest over pay and employment.
Walkout Information
The BMA announced that junior physicians will walk out for five consecutive days from November 14 at 7am to 7am on 19 November.
Junior physicians, who constitute about half of all medical staff in the National Health Service, are taking this action after unsuccessful talks with the government.
Causes of the Walkout
Dr Jack Fletcher stated, “We did not want to reach this point. We have spent the last week in talks with officials, pressing the health secretary to end the scandal of unemployed physicians.”
“Our survey reveals 50% of second-year physicians in the UK are struggling to find jobs, their talents being unused whilst countless individuals wait endlessly for treatment and hospital shifts remain vacant. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He added, “We negotiated sincerely, keen for the minister to understand that a agreement including options to gradually reverse the pay reductions over several years, giving recent graduates a raise of only £1 per hour for the next four years.”
“We hoped the government would see that our asks are not just fair but are in the interest of the public and our patients and would also help prevent our doctors leaving the NHS.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Junior physicians have anywhere up to eight years’ experience practicing in hospitals, depending on their specialty, or as many as three years in primary care.
More details are expected shortly.
