Resident Doctors in England to Launch Five Consecutive Day Strike in November
Doctors in England are set to stage a five-day strike in November, due to disputes regarding pay and employment.
Strike Details
The British Medical Association (BMA) announced that resident doctors will walk out for five days in a row from 7am on 14 November to November 19 at 7am.
Junior physicians, who constitute nearly 50% of all medical staff in the NHS, are proceeding with the strike after unsuccessful talks 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 government, pressing the health minister to resolve the scandal of doctors going unemployed.”
“Our survey reveals half of second-year doctors in England are facing unemployment, their skills going to waste whilst countless individuals endure long waits for care and hospital shifts go unfilled. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He continued, “We negotiated sincerely, keen for the minister to see that a deal offering solutions to slowly restore the cuts to pay over several years, providing recent graduates a raise of only £1 per hour for the next four years.”
“We trusted the authorities would recognize that our asks are not just reasonable but are in the best interests of the community and our patients and would also help prevent our physicians leaving the health service.”
About Resident Doctors
Resident doctors have as much as eight years of experience practicing in hospitals, depending on their specialty, or as many as three years in general practice.
Further information are expected shortly.
