Junior Doctors in England to Begin Five-Day Walkout Next Month
Medical professionals in the UK are set to begin a five-day strike next month, due to disputes regarding pay and employment.
Walkout Information
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 make up nearly 50% of all medical staff in the National Health Service, are proceeding with the strike after failed negotiations with the health department.
Causes of the Walkout
Dr Jack Fletcher commented, “We did not want to reach this point. We have spent the last week in talks with officials, urging the health minister 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 millions of patients wait endlessly for treatment and shifts in hospitals go unfilled. This cannot continue.”
He continued, “We negotiated sincerely, hoping the health secretary to understand that a agreement offering solutions to slowly restore the cuts to pay over several years, providing newly trained doctors a raise of only £1 per hour for the coming four years.”
“We trusted the government 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 prevent our doctors leaving the NHS.”
About Resident Doctors
Junior physicians have as much as eight years of experience working as a hospital doctor, depending on their specialty, or as many as three years in general practice.
More details are expected shortly.
