Resident Doctors in England to Launch Five Consecutive Day Strike in November
Doctors in England are set to stage a five consecutive day walkout next month, due to disputes regarding pay and employment.
Walkout Information
The British Medical Association (BMA) stated that junior physicians will strike for five consecutive days from November 14 at 7am to 7am on 19 November.
Resident doctors, who constitute about half of all medical staff in the National Health Service, are taking this action after unsuccessful talks with the government.
Reasons Behind the Strike
The chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee commented, “We did not want to reach this point. We have been negotiating for the past week with government, pressing the health minister to resolve the scandal of unemployed physicians.”
“We know from our own survey half of second-year doctors in England are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst millions of patients wait endlessly for treatment and shifts in hospitals remain vacant. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He continued, “We negotiated sincerely, hoping the minister to understand that a agreement including options to gradually reverse the pay reductions 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 authorities would see that our asks 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 practicing in hospitals, depending on their specialty, or as many as three years in general practice.
Further information are expected shortly.
