Junior Physicians in England to Begin Five-Day Strike in November
Doctors in England are preparing to begin a five consecutive day strike in November, due to disputes regarding jobs and pay.
Strike Details
The British Medical Association (BMA) stated that junior physicians will walk out for five consecutive days from 7am on 14 November 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 health department.
Causes of the Walkout
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, urging the health secretary to end the scandal of doctors going unemployed.”
“Our survey reveals 50% of second-year physicians in the UK are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst countless individuals wait endlessly for treatment and hospital shifts remain vacant. This cannot continue.”
He continued, “We talked with the government in good faith, hoping the health secretary to understand that a agreement including options to gradually reverse the cuts to pay over several years, giving recent graduates a pay increase of just a pound an hour for the next four years.”
“We trusted the authorities would recognize that our demands are not just fair but are in the interest of the public and our those we treat and would also help stop our physicians 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 primary care.
Further information will follow shortly.
