Resident Doctors in England to Stage Five-Day Strike in November
Medical professionals in England are preparing to stage a five consecutive day strike next month, in protest over pay and employment.
Strike Details
The British Medical Association (BMA) stated that junior physicians will walk out for five days in a row from November 14 at 7am to 7am on 19 November.
Resident doctors, who make up about half of all doctors in the National Health Service, are taking this action after unsuccessful talks with the government.
Reasons Behind the Strike
The chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee commented, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have spent the last week in talks with officials, urging the health minister to end the crisis of unemployed physicians.”
“Our survey reveals half of second-year doctors in England are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst millions of patients endure long waits for care and shifts in hospitals remain vacant. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He added, “We negotiated sincerely, hoping the minister to see that a deal including options to slowly restore the cuts to pay over a number of years, providing newly trained doctors a pay increase of only £1 per hour for the next four years.”
“We trusted the government would see that our demands are not just fair but are in the interest of the community and our those we treat and would also help stop our doctors departing from the NHS.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
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 soon.
