Resident Doctors in the UK to Stage Five Consecutive Day Strike Next Month
Doctors in England are preparing to stage a five-day walkout next month, due to disputes regarding pay and employment.
Strike Details
The BMA announced that junior physicians will strike for five days in a row from 7am on 14 November to 7am on 19 November.
Resident doctors, who make up about half of all doctors in the NHS, are taking this action after failed negotiations with the government.
Reasons Behind the Strike
Dr Jack Fletcher commented, “We did not want to reach this point. We have been negotiating for the past week with officials, urging the health secretary to end the crisis of unemployed physicians.”
“Our survey reveals 50% of second-year physicians in the UK are facing unemployment, their skills going to waste whilst millions of patients endure long waits for care and shifts in hospitals remain vacant. This cannot continue.”
He added, “We negotiated sincerely, keen for the minister to understand that a agreement offering solutions to gradually reverse the cuts to pay over several years, giving newly trained doctors a raise of only £1 per hour for the next four years.”
“We hoped the authorities would recognize that our demands are not just reasonable but are in the interest of the community and our patients and would also help prevent our physicians departing from the NHS.”
About Resident Doctors
Resident doctors have as much as eight years of experience practicing in hospitals, based on their field, or up to three years in general practice.
Further information will follow shortly.
