Junior Physicians in the UK to Launch Five-Day Strike Next Month
Medical professionals in the UK are preparing to stage a five-day walkout in November, in protest over jobs and pay.
Strike Details
The BMA announced that resident doctors will strike for five days in a row from November 14 at 7am to 7am on 19 November.
Resident doctors, who constitute nearly 50% of all doctors in the NHS, are proceeding with the strike after failed negotiations with the health department.
Reasons Behind the Strike
Dr Jack Fletcher stated, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have spent the last week in talks with government, pressing the health minister to end the crisis of doctors going unemployed.”
“Our survey reveals 50% of second-year physicians in the UK are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst millions of patients endure long waits for care and hospital shifts go unfilled. This cannot continue.”
He continued, “We negotiated sincerely, keen for the health secretary to see that a deal including options to slowly restore the cuts to pay over several years, giving newly trained doctors a pay increase of just a pound an hour for the next four years.”
“We hoped the government would recognize that our asks are not just reasonable but are in the interest of the community and our those we treat and would also help stop our doctors leaving the health service.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Junior physicians have as much as eight years of experience working as a hospital doctor, based on their field, or up to three years in primary care.
Further information will follow shortly.
