Resident Physicians in England to Stage Five-Day Strike in November
Doctors in England are set to begin a five consecutive day walkout in November, due to disputes regarding jobs and pay.
Walkout Information
The BMA announced that junior physicians will strike for five consecutive days from November 14 at 7am to November 19 at 7am.
Resident doctors, who make up nearly 50% of all medical staff in the NHS, are taking this action after failed negotiations with the health department.
Causes of the Walkout
Dr Jack Fletcher stated, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have been negotiating for the past week with officials, pressing the health minister to end the crisis of doctors going unemployed.”
“We know from our own survey half of second-year doctors in England are facing unemployment, their skills going to waste whilst millions of patients endure long waits for care and hospital shifts remain vacant. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He continued, “We negotiated sincerely, keen for the health secretary to understand that a deal including options to slowly restore the cuts to pay over several years, giving newly trained doctors a raise of just a pound an hour for the coming four years.”
“We hoped the authorities would recognize that our asks are not just reasonable but are in the interest of the public and our patients and would also help stop our doctors leaving the NHS.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Resident doctors have as much as eight years of experience working as a hospital doctor, depending on their specialty, or up to three years in primary care.
Further information will follow shortly.
