Junior Doctors in England to Begin Five Consecutive Day Walkout Next Month
Doctors in England are preparing to stage a five-day walkout in November, in protest over jobs and pay.
Strike Details
The British Medical Association (BMA) stated that junior physicians will strike 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 proceeding with the strike after failed negotiations with the health department.
Causes of the Walkout
Dr Jack Fletcher stated, “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 crisis of unemployed physicians.”
“We know from our own survey half of second-year doctors in England are struggling to find jobs, their talents being unused whilst millions of patients wait endlessly for treatment and hospital shifts remain vacant. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He continued, “We negotiated sincerely, hoping the minister to understand that a deal offering solutions to gradually reverse the pay reductions over a number of years, providing newly trained doctors a raise of only £1 per hour for the next four years.”
“We trusted the authorities would recognize that our asks are not just fair but are in the interest of the community and our those we treat and would also help prevent our physicians departing from the NHS.”
About Resident Doctors
Junior physicians have anywhere up to eight years’ experience practicing in hospitals, based on their field, or up to three years in primary care.
More details are expected shortly.
