Resident Physicians in the UK to Begin Five Consecutive Day Walkout in November

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

Strike Details

The BMA announced that junior physicians will strike for five consecutive days from 7am on 14 November to November 19 at 7am.

Resident doctors, who constitute about half of all medical staff in the National Health Service, are proceeding with the strike after failed negotiations with the health department.

Reasons Behind the Strike

Dr Jack Fletcher stated, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have been negotiating for the past week with government, pressing the health minister to end the scandal of doctors going unemployed.”

“Our survey reveals 50% of second-year physicians in the UK are struggling to find jobs, their skills going to waste whilst millions of patients wait endlessly for treatment and hospital shifts remain vacant. This is a situation which cannot go on.”

He continued, “We negotiated sincerely, keen for the health secretary to see that a deal including options to gradually reverse the pay reductions over a number of years, giving newly trained doctors a raise of only £1 per hour for the coming four years.”

“We hoped the government would recognize that our asks are not just fair but are in the interest of the community and our those we treat and would also help prevent our doctors leaving the health service.”

About Resident Doctors

Junior physicians have anywhere up to eight years’ experience practicing in hospitals, based on their field, or up to three years in primary care.

More details will follow soon.