Resident Physicians in the UK to Stage Five-Day Strike in November

Doctors in England are preparing to stage a five consecutive day strike next month, in protest over jobs and pay.

Strike Details

The 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 about half of all medical staff in the NHS, are proceeding with the strike after unsuccessful talks with the health department.

Causes of the Walkout

The chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee stated, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have been negotiating for the past week with government, urging the health minister to end the crisis of unemployed physicians.”

“Our survey reveals 50% of second-year physicians in England are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst millions of patients endure long waits for care and hospital shifts go unfilled. This is a situation which cannot go on.”

He added, “We talked with the government in good faith, hoping the minister to understand that a agreement including options to gradually reverse the cuts to pay over several years, giving newly trained doctors a pay increase of just a pound an hour for the next four years.”

“We hoped the authorities would see that our asks are not just reasonable but are in the best interests of the public and our those we treat and would also help prevent our physicians leaving the health service.”

Who Are Resident Physicians?

Resident doctors have as much as eight years of experience practicing in hospitals, based on their field, or as many as three years in primary care.

More details are expected soon.