Junior Physicians in the UK to Stage Five Consecutive Day Strike in November

Doctors in the UK are preparing to stage a five-day walkout in November, due to disputes regarding jobs and pay.

Strike Details

The British Medical Association (BMA) stated that junior physicians will strike for five consecutive days from November 14 at 7am to 7am on 19 November.

Resident doctors, who constitute about half of all doctors in the NHS, are taking this action after failed negotiations with the health department.

Reasons Behind the Strike

Dr Jack Fletcher commented, “We did not want to reach this point. We have spent the last week in talks with officials, pressing the health secretary to resolve the scandal of doctors going unemployed.”

“Our survey reveals half of second-year doctors in the UK are facing unemployment, their skills going to waste whilst millions of patients endure long waits for care and hospital shifts go unfilled. This is a situation which cannot go on.”

He added, “We talked with the government in good faith, keen for the minister to see that a agreement including options to slowly restore the cuts to pay over several years, providing newly trained doctors a raise of just a pound an hour for the coming four years.”

“We trusted the authorities 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 physicians departing from the health service.”

Who Are Resident Physicians?

Junior physicians have as much as eight years of experience practicing in hospitals, based on their field, or as many as three years in general practice.

More details will follow soon.