Junior Doctors in the UK to Stage Five Consecutive Day Walkout in November
Doctors in England are preparing to begin a five consecutive day walkout next month, due to disputes regarding jobs and pay.
Strike Details
The BMA announced that resident doctors will walk out for five consecutive days from November 14 at 7am to 7am on 19 November.
Resident doctors, who constitute about half of all doctors 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 stated, “We did not want to reach this point. We have been negotiating for the past week with officials, urging the health secretary to resolve 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 endure long waits for care and hospital shifts remain vacant. This cannot continue.”
He added, “We negotiated sincerely, hoping the health secretary to understand that a deal offering solutions to slowly restore the pay reductions over a number of years, giving newly trained doctors a pay increase of only £1 per hour for the coming four years.”
“We hoped the authorities would recognize that our demands are not just fair but are in the best interests of the public and our those we treat and would also help prevent our physicians leaving the health service.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Junior physicians have anywhere up to eight years’ experience practicing in hospitals, based on their field, or up to three years in general practice.
More details are expected shortly.
