Resident Physicians in the UK to Launch Five-Day Strike Next Month

Doctors in the UK are set to stage a five-day strike next month, in protest over jobs and pay.

Walkout Information

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 nearly 50% of all doctors in the NHS, are proceeding with the strike after failed negotiations with the health department.

Causes of the Walkout

The chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee commented, “We did not want to reach this point. We have been negotiating for the past week with officials, pressing the health minister to end the crisis of doctors going unemployed.”

“We know from our own survey 50% of second-year physicians in England are facing unemployment, their skills going to waste whilst millions of patients endure long waits for care and hospital shifts go unfilled. This is a situation which cannot go on.”

He continued, “We negotiated sincerely, hoping the minister to see that a deal including options to slowly restore the pay reductions over several years, giving recent graduates a pay increase 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 public and our patients and would also help prevent our physicians departing from the health service.”

About Resident Doctors

Resident doctors have as much as eight years of experience practicing in hospitals, based on their field, or up to three years in general practice.

Further information are expected shortly.