Resident Doctors in England to Launch Five-Day Walkout Next Month

Doctors in the UK are set to stage a five consecutive day strike in November, in protest over jobs and pay.

Walkout Information

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

Junior physicians, who make up nearly 50% of all medical staff 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 government, pressing the health secretary to resolve the crisis of doctors going unemployed.”

“We know from our own survey 50% of second-year physicians in England are struggling to find jobs, their talents being unused whilst countless individuals endure long waits for care and shifts in hospitals remain vacant. This cannot continue.”

He added, “We talked with the government in good faith, hoping the minister to understand that a deal including options to gradually reverse the cuts to pay over several years, giving newly trained doctors a pay increase of only £1 per hour for the next four years.”

“We trusted the government would see that our demands are not just fair but are in the interest of the public and our those we treat and would also help prevent our physicians departing from the NHS.”

Who Are Resident Physicians?

Resident doctors have anywhere up to eight years’ experience working as a hospital doctor, based on their field, or up to three years in general practice.

More details will follow shortly.