Resident Physicians in the UK to Launch Five Consecutive Day Strike Next Month
Medical professionals in England are set to stage a five consecutive day walkout in November, due to disputes regarding pay and employment.
Strike Details
The BMA stated that resident doctors will walk out for five consecutive days from 7am on 14 November to 7am on 19 November.
Resident doctors, who make up nearly 50% of all medical staff in the National Health Service, are taking this action after unsuccessful talks with the government.
Causes of the Walkout
The chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee commented, “We did not want to reach this point. We have spent the last week in talks with government, pressing the health minister to end the scandal of doctors going unemployed.”
“We know from our own survey 50% of second-year physicians in England are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst countless individuals endure long waits for care and shifts in hospitals go unfilled. This cannot continue.”
He added, “We talked with the government in good faith, keen for the minister to understand that a agreement offering solutions to gradually reverse the cuts to pay over several years, providing recent graduates a raise of just a pound an hour for the next four years.”
“We trusted the authorities would recognize that our demands are not just fair but are in the interest of the public and our those we treat and would also help prevent our doctors departing from the NHS.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Resident doctors have as much as eight years of experience practicing in hospitals, depending on their specialty, or up to three years in general practice.
Further information will follow shortly.
