Resident Physicians in England to Begin Five Consecutive Day Strike Next Month
Medical professionals in England are set to stage a five consecutive day strike next month, due to disputes regarding jobs and pay.
Strike Details
The BMA stated that resident doctors will strike for five consecutive days from 7am on 14 November to 7am on 19 November.
Junior physicians, who make up about half of all doctors in the National Health Service, 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 been negotiating for the past week with government, pressing the health minister to end the scandal of unemployed physicians.”
“Our survey reveals 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 remain vacant. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He added, “We negotiated sincerely, keen for the health secretary to see that a deal offering solutions to gradually reverse the pay reductions over several years, giving newly trained doctors a raise of only £1 per hour for the next four years.”
“We trusted the government would recognize that our demands are not just reasonable but are in the interest of the public and our patients and would also help stop our physicians departing from the health service.”
Who Are Resident Physicians?
Resident doctors have anywhere up to eight years’ experience practicing in hospitals, depending on their specialty, or up to three years in general practice.
More details will follow soon.
