Junior Doctors in England to Begin Five-Day Strike in November

Medical professionals in the UK are preparing to begin a five consecutive day strike in November, due to disputes regarding jobs and pay.

Walkout Information

The British Medical Association (BMA) stated that resident doctors will walk out for five consecutive days from 7am on 14 November to November 19 at 7am.

Junior physicians, who make up 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 stated, “This is not where we wanted to be. We have been negotiating for the past week with officials, pressing the health secretary to end the crisis of doctors going unemployed.”

“Our survey reveals half of second-year doctors in England are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst millions of patients endure long waits for care and shifts in hospitals remain vacant. This cannot continue.”

He added, “We negotiated sincerely, keen for the health secretary to understand that a agreement offering solutions to slowly restore the pay reductions over a number of years, providing recent graduates a raise of just a pound an hour for the next four years.”

“We trusted the authorities would see that our asks are not just reasonable but are in the interest of the public and our patients and would also help stop our doctors leaving the health service.”

About Resident Doctors

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

Further information will follow soon.