Junior Physicians in the UK to Begin Five-Day Walkout Next Month
Medical professionals in the UK are preparing to stage a five consecutive day walkout in November, in protest over jobs and pay.
Walkout Information
The BMA announced that resident doctors will walk out for five days in a row from 7am on 14 November to November 19 at 7am.
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.
Causes of the Walkout
Dr Jack Fletcher commented, “We did not want to reach this point. We have spent the last week in talks with government, urging the health secretary to resolve the crisis of doctors going unemployed.”
“Our survey reveals half of second-year doctors in England are struggling to find jobs, their skills going to waste whilst millions of patients endure long waits for care and shifts in hospitals go unfilled. This is a situation which cannot go on.”
He added, “We negotiated sincerely, hoping the minister to see that a agreement offering solutions to slowly restore the pay reductions over several years, giving recent graduates a raise of only £1 per hour for the coming four years.”
“We hoped the government 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 physicians departing from the NHS.”
About Resident Doctors
Resident doctors have as much as eight years of experience working as a hospital doctor, based on their field, or as many as three years in general practice.
Further information are expected soon.