Resident Physicians in England to Begin Five-Day Walkout Next Month
Medical professionals in the UK are set to begin a five-day strike next month, due to disputes regarding jobs and pay.
Walkout Information
The British Medical Association (BMA) stated that junior physicians will strike for five consecutive days from November 14 at 7am to November 19 at 7am.
Junior physicians, 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.
Reasons Behind the Strike
The chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee stated, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have spent the last week in talks with government, pressing the health minister to resolve the scandal of unemployed physicians.”
“Our survey reveals 50% of second-year physicians in England are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst countless individuals wait endlessly for treatment and hospital shifts go unfilled. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He added, “We talked with the government in good faith, keen for the minister to see that a agreement offering solutions to slowly restore the cuts to pay over several years, providing recent graduates a raise of only £1 per hour for the next four years.”
“We trusted the government would see that our demands are not just reasonable but are in the interest of the public and our those we treat and would also help prevent our doctors leaving the NHS.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Resident doctors have anywhere up to eight years’ experience working as a hospital doctor, based on their field, or up to three years in primary care.
More details are expected soon.
