Junior Physicians in England to Stage Five Consecutive Day Walkout Next Month
Medical professionals in England are preparing to stage a five consecutive day walkout next month, 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 constitute nearly 50% of all doctors in the NHS, are proceeding with the strike after unsuccessful talks with the health department.
Reasons Behind the Strike
The chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee stated, “We did not want to reach this point. We have spent the last week in talks with government, pressing the health minister to resolve the scandal of unemployed physicians.”
“We know from our own survey 50% of second-year physicians in England are struggling to find jobs, their skills going to waste whilst countless individuals wait endlessly for treatment and shifts in hospitals remain vacant. This cannot continue.”
He added, “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, providing recent graduates a raise of just a pound an hour for the coming four years.”
“We hoped the authorities would see that our asks are not just reasonable but are in the interest of the public and our those we treat and would also help prevent our doctors leaving the health service.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Resident doctors have anywhere up to eight years’ experience working as a hospital doctor, based on their field, or up to three years in general practice.
More details are expected shortly.
