Junior Doctors in England to Launch Five-Day Walkout in November
Doctors in the UK are set to stage a five-day walkout in November, in protest over jobs and pay.
Walkout Information
The British Medical Association (BMA) stated that junior physicians will walk out for five days in a row from 7am on 14 November to 7am on 19 November.
Junior physicians, who constitute nearly 50% of all doctors in the National Health Service, are taking this action after failed negotiations with the health department.
Causes of the Walkout
Dr Jack Fletcher stated, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have been negotiating for the past week with officials, pressing the health minister to end the crisis of unemployed physicians.”
“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 remain vacant. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He continued, “We talked with the government in good faith, hoping the minister to see that a agreement including options to slowly restore the pay reductions over several years, providing newly trained doctors a pay increase of only £1 per hour for the next four years.”
“We hoped the authorities would see that our demands are not just fair but are in the best interests of the community and our those we treat and would also help prevent our doctors departing from the health service.”
About Resident Doctors
Resident doctors have anywhere up to eight years’ experience practicing in hospitals, based on their field, or as many as three years in general practice.
Further information are expected soon.
