Junior Doctors in the UK to Stage Five-Day Strike Next Month
Medical professionals in the UK are preparing to begin a five-day strike next month, due to disputes regarding jobs and pay.
Walkout Information
The BMA stated that junior physicians will walk out for five consecutive days from November 14 at 7am to 7am on 19 November.
Junior physicians, who constitute nearly 50% of all medical staff in the NHS, are proceeding with the strike after unsuccessful talks with the government.
Causes of the Walkout
Dr Jack Fletcher stated, “We did not want to reach this point. We have spent the last week in talks with officials, pressing the health secretary to resolve the scandal of unemployed physicians.”
“Our survey reveals 50% of second-year physicians in England are facing unemployment, their skills going to waste whilst countless individuals wait endlessly for treatment and shifts in hospitals remain vacant. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He added, “We talked with the government in good faith, keen for the health secretary to understand that a deal including options to gradually reverse the pay reductions over a number of years, providing recent graduates a raise of only £1 per hour for the next four years.”
“We hoped the authorities would see that our asks are not just fair but are in the interest of the public and our those we treat and would also help stop our doctors departing from the NHS.”
About Resident Doctors
Resident doctors have anywhere up to eight years’ experience working as a hospital doctor, based on their field, or up to three years in general practice.
Further information will follow soon.
