Resident Doctors in England to Begin Five Consecutive Day Strike in November
Doctors in England are set to stage a five-day walkout in November, due to disputes regarding jobs and pay.
Strike Details
The BMA stated that junior physicians will walk out for five consecutive days from November 14 at 7am to November 19 at 7am.
Resident doctors, who constitute nearly 50% of all medical staff in the NHS, are proceeding with the strike after unsuccessful talks with the government.
Reasons Behind the Strike
The chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee stated, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have spent the last week in talks with government, pressing the health secretary to resolve the crisis of unemployed physicians.”
“We know from our own survey half of second-year doctors in England are struggling to find jobs, their skills going to waste whilst millions of patients endure long waits for care and hospital shifts remain vacant. This cannot continue.”
He added, “We talked with the government in good faith, hoping the minister to understand that a agreement including options to gradually reverse the cuts to pay over a number of years, giving newly trained doctors a pay increase of only £1 per hour for the coming four years.”
“We trusted the government would see that our demands are not just reasonable but are in the best interests of the community and our patients and would also help stop our physicians departing from the NHS.”
About Resident Doctors
Junior physicians have as much as eight years of experience practicing in hospitals, based on their field, or up to three years in general practice.
More details are expected shortly.
