Resident Doctors in England to Stage Five Consecutive Day Walkout in November
Medical professionals in the UK are set to stage a five consecutive day walkout next month, in protest over jobs and pay.
Walkout Information
The BMA stated that junior physicians will walk out for five consecutive days from 7am on 14 November to November 19 at 7am.
Junior physicians, who constitute nearly 50% of all doctors in the National Health Service, are taking this action after unsuccessful talks with the health department.
Causes of the Walkout
Dr Jack Fletcher stated, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have spent the last week in talks with officials, pressing the health minister to resolve the scandal of doctors going unemployed.”
“Our survey reveals 50% of second-year physicians in England are struggling to find jobs, their skills going to waste whilst countless individuals wait endlessly for treatment and shifts in hospitals remain vacant. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He added, “We talked with the government in good faith, hoping the minister to see that a deal including options to gradually reverse the cuts to pay over a number of years, providing recent graduates a raise of only £1 per hour for the next four years.”
“We trusted the authorities would see that our demands are not just fair but are in the best interests of the public and our those we treat and would also help stop our physicians leaving 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 are expected soon.
