Junior Doctors in England to Launch Five-Day Strike Next Month
Doctors in England are preparing to stage a five consecutive day strike in November, in protest over pay and employment.
Walkout Information
The British Medical Association (BMA) stated that junior physicians will walk out for five consecutive days from November 14 at 7am to 7am on 19 November.
Resident doctors, who make up nearly 50% of all medical staff in the NHS, are taking this action after unsuccessful talks with the health department.
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 officials, pressing the health minister to resolve the crisis of doctors going unemployed.”
“Our survey reveals half of second-year doctors in England are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst countless individuals wait endlessly for treatment and hospital shifts go unfilled. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He added, “We negotiated sincerely, keen for the health secretary to understand that a deal offering solutions to slowly restore the cuts to pay over several years, providing newly trained doctors a pay increase 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 public and our patients and would also help prevent our doctors leaving the NHS.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Junior physicians have as much as eight years of experience practicing in hospitals, based on their field, or as many as three years in primary care.
More details will follow soon.
