Junior Physicians in England to Stage Five Consecutive Day Strike Next Month
Doctors in the UK are preparing to stage a five consecutive day strike next month, due to disputes regarding pay and employment.
Strike Details
The BMA stated that junior physicians will walk out for five consecutive days from November 14 at 7am to 7am on 19 November.
Resident doctors, who make up nearly 50% of all medical staff in the National Health Service, are taking this action after failed negotiations with the government.
Reasons Behind the Strike
The chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee stated, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have spent the last week in talks with government, urging the health minister to end the scandal of doctors going unemployed.”
“Our survey reveals 50% of second-year physicians in England are facing unemployment, their skills going to waste whilst countless individuals endure long waits for care and hospital shifts remain vacant. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He continued, “We negotiated sincerely, hoping the minister to see that a deal including options to gradually reverse the pay reductions over a number of years, giving recent graduates a pay increase of just a pound an hour for the coming four years.”
“We trusted the government would see that our demands are not just fair but are in the interest of the community and our patients and would also help prevent our doctors leaving the NHS.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Resident doctors have anywhere up to eight years’ experience working as a hospital doctor, based on their field, or up to three years in primary care.
More details will follow soon.
