Junior Doctors in England to Launch Five Consecutive Day Strike Next Month
Medical professionals in England are set to stage a five-day strike next month, in protest over jobs and pay.
Strike Details
The British Medical Association (BMA) announced 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 proceeding with the strike after failed negotiations with the government.
Causes of the Walkout
The chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee stated, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have been negotiating for the past week with officials, urging the health minister to resolve the scandal of unemployed physicians.”
“Our survey reveals half of second-year doctors in England are struggling to find jobs, their skills going to waste whilst countless individuals endure long waits for care and shifts in hospitals remain vacant. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He continued, “We talked with the government in good faith, keen for the minister to understand that a deal including options to slowly restore the cuts to pay over a number of years, giving recent graduates a pay increase of only £1 per hour for the next four years.”
“We trusted the authorities would see that our asks are not just fair but are in the interest of the public and our patients and would also help prevent our doctors leaving the health service.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
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 general practice.
Further information will follow shortly.
