Resident Doctors in the UK to Stage Five-Day Walkout Next Month

Medical professionals in the UK are set to stage a five consecutive day walkout next month, due to disputes regarding pay and employment.

Strike Details

The BMA stated that junior physicians will strike for five days in a row from November 14 at 7am to 7am on 19 November.

Resident doctors, who constitute nearly 50% of all doctors in the NHS, are taking this action after unsuccessful talks with the government.

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 secretary to end the scandal of unemployed physicians.”

“Our survey reveals half of second-year doctors in the UK are struggling to find jobs, their skills going to waste whilst countless individuals wait endlessly for treatment and hospital shifts remain vacant. 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 pay reductions over several years, providing newly trained doctors a raise of only £1 per hour for the next four years.”

“We trusted the government would recognize that our asks are not just fair but are in the best interests of the community and our those we treat and would also help stop our physicians departing from the NHS.”

Who Are Resident Physicians?

Resident doctors have as much as eight years of experience working as a hospital doctor, depending on their specialty, or up to three years in primary care.

Further information are expected shortly.