Resident Physicians in England to Stage Five Consecutive Day Strike Next Month
Medical professionals in England are set to begin a five-day walkout next month, due to disputes regarding pay and employment.
Strike Details
The BMA stated that junior physicians will walk out for five days in a row from 7am on 14 November to November 19 at 7am.
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 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 officials, pressing the health minister to end the scandal of doctors going unemployed.”
“Our survey reveals half of second-year doctors in England are facing unemployment, their skills going to waste whilst millions of patients wait endlessly for treatment and hospital shifts remain vacant. This cannot continue.”
He added, “We negotiated sincerely, keen for the health secretary to see that a agreement including options to slowly restore the pay reductions over several years, giving recent graduates a raise of just a pound an hour for the next four years.”
“We trusted the authorities would recognize that our asks are not just fair but are in the interest of the public and our patients and would also help stop our doctors leaving the NHS.”
About Resident Doctors
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.
More details are expected soon.
