Resident Physicians in England to Begin Five-Day Walkout Next Month
Doctors in the UK are set to begin a five-day walkout in November, due to disputes regarding 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 7am on 19 November.
Resident doctors, who constitute about half of all medical staff in the National Health Service, are taking this action after unsuccessful talks with the government.
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, urging the health minister to end the crisis of unemployed physicians.”
“Our survey reveals half of second-year doctors in England are facing unemployment, their talents being unused 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, hoping the health secretary to see that a agreement offering solutions to gradually reverse the pay reductions over several years, giving newly trained doctors a pay increase of only £1 per hour for the next four years.”
“We hoped the authorities would recognize that our asks are not just fair but are in the interest of the community and our patients and would also help stop our doctors 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 up to three years in primary care.
More details will follow shortly.