Junior Physicians in England to Begin Five-Day Strike in November
Medical professionals in England are preparing to stage a five consecutive day strike next month, in protest over jobs and pay.
Strike Details
The British Medical Association (BMA) announced that resident doctors will walk out for five consecutive days from 7am on 14 November to November 19 at 7am.
Resident doctors, who make up nearly 50% of all doctors in the National Health Service, are taking this action after failed negotiations with the health department.
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 government, pressing the health minister to resolve the crisis of doctors going unemployed.”
“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 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 understand that a agreement including options to gradually reverse the cuts to pay over several years, giving recent graduates a raise of only £1 per hour for the coming four years.”
“We trusted the authorities would see that our demands are not just reasonable but are in the interest of the public and our those we treat and would also help prevent our physicians leaving the NHS.”
About Resident Doctors
Junior physicians 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 soon.
