Resident Physicians in the UK to Launch Five-Day Strike Next Month
Medical professionals in the UK are set to begin a five consecutive day strike in November, due to disputes regarding pay and employment.
Walkout Information
The British Medical Association (BMA) announced that resident doctors will strike for five days in a row from November 14 at 7am to 7am on 19 November.
Resident doctors, who constitute nearly 50% of all medical staff in the NHS, are taking this action after unsuccessful talks with the health department.
Causes of the Walkout
Dr Jack Fletcher stated, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have spent the last week in talks with officials, pressing the health minister to end the scandal of unemployed physicians.”
“Our survey reveals half of second-year doctors in the UK are struggling to find jobs, their talents being unused whilst countless individuals endure long waits for care and hospital shifts remain vacant. This cannot continue.”
He added, “We talked with the government in good faith, hoping the health secretary to see that a agreement including options to slowly restore the pay reductions over a number of years, providing recent graduates a raise of just a pound an hour for the coming four years.”
“We trusted the government would recognize that our asks are not just reasonable but are in the best interests of the public and our those we treat and would also help stop our doctors departing from the NHS.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Junior physicians have as much as eight years of experience practicing in hospitals, depending on their specialty, or up to three years in primary care.
More details will follow soon.
