Junior Physicians in the UK to Launch Five-Day Walkout in November
Doctors in the UK are preparing to begin a five consecutive day walkout in November, due to disputes regarding pay and employment.
Strike Details
The British Medical Association (BMA) stated that junior physicians will walk out for five days in a row from 7am on 14 November to 7am on 19 November.
Junior physicians, who make up nearly 50% of all medical staff in the National Health Service, 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 spent the last week in talks with officials, pressing the health secretary to resolve the scandal of doctors going unemployed.”
“We know from our own survey 50% of second-year physicians in the UK are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst countless individuals wait endlessly for treatment and shifts in hospitals go unfilled. This cannot continue.”
He added, “We negotiated sincerely, keen for the minister to see that a deal including options to slowly restore the pay reductions over a number of years, giving 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 interest of the public and our those we treat and would also help stop our physicians departing from the NHS.”
About Resident Doctors
Junior physicians have as much as eight years of experience working as a hospital doctor, based on their field, or as many as three years in general practice.
More details are expected soon.
