Junior Physicians in the UK to Stage Five Consecutive Day Strike Next Month
Medical professionals in the UK are preparing to stage a five consecutive day strike next month, in protest over jobs and pay.
Walkout Information
The BMA stated that resident doctors will strike for five consecutive days from November 14 at 7am to November 19 at 7am.
Resident doctors, who constitute about half of all medical staff in the National Health Service, are taking this action after failed negotiations 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, urging the health minister to resolve the scandal of doctors going unemployed.”
“Our survey reveals half of second-year doctors in the UK are facing unemployment, their skills going to waste whilst millions of patients wait endlessly for treatment and hospital shifts go unfilled. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He continued, “We negotiated sincerely, hoping the health secretary to see that a deal including options to gradually reverse the cuts to pay over a number of years, giving recent graduates a raise of only £1 per hour for the next four years.”
“We hoped the authorities would recognize that our demands are not just fair but are in the best interests 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 as much as eight years of experience working as a hospital doctor, based on their field, or up to three years in primary care.
More details are expected soon.
