Resident Doctors in the UK to Begin Five Consecutive Day Strike Next Month

Medical professionals in England are preparing to begin a five-day strike next month, due to disputes regarding jobs and pay.

Walkout Information

The BMA stated that junior physicians will strike 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 NHS, are proceeding with the strike after failed negotiations with the health department.

Causes of the Walkout

The chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee stated, “We did not want to reach this point. We have been negotiating for the past week with government, pressing the health secretary to resolve the scandal of doctors going unemployed.”

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

He continued, “We talked with the government in good faith, keen for the health secretary to understand 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 next four years.”

“We trusted the authorities would see that our demands are not just fair but are in the interest of the public and our those we treat and would also help stop our doctors leaving the NHS.”

About Resident Doctors

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

More details are expected shortly.