Junior Doctors in England to Stage Five-Day Walkout in November
Doctors in the UK are preparing to begin a five-day strike next month, in protest over jobs and pay.
Strike Details
The BMA announced that junior physicians will strike for five consecutive days from 7am on 14 November to 7am on 19 November.
Junior physicians, who constitute about half of all doctors in the NHS, are proceeding with the strike after unsuccessful talks with the government.
Causes of the Walkout
Dr Jack Fletcher commented, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have spent the last week in talks with government, urging the health secretary to resolve the crisis of doctors going unemployed.”
“We know from our own survey half of second-year doctors in England are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst millions of patients endure long waits for care and hospital shifts go unfilled. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He added, “We negotiated sincerely, hoping the minister to see that a deal including options to gradually reverse the cuts to pay over a number of years, giving newly trained doctors a pay increase of only £1 per 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 departing from the health service.”
About Resident Doctors
Resident doctors have anywhere up to eight years’ experience working as a hospital doctor, depending on their specialty, or up to three years in general practice.
Further information are expected shortly.