Junior Physicians in the UK to Stage Five Consecutive Day Walkout in November

Doctors in England are set to begin a five consecutive day walkout in November, in protest over jobs and pay.

Walkout Information

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

Junior physicians, who make up nearly 50% of all medical staff in the NHS, are taking this action 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 spent the last week in talks with officials, pressing the health secretary to end the crisis of doctors going unemployed.”

“Our survey reveals half of second-year doctors in the UK are facing unemployment, their skills going to waste whilst countless individuals wait endlessly for treatment and shifts in hospitals remain vacant. This is a situation which cannot go on.”

He added, “We talked with the government in good faith, hoping the health secretary to see that a deal including options to gradually reverse the pay reductions over a number of years, giving newly trained doctors a raise of only £1 per hour for the coming four years.”

“We trusted the government would recognize that our asks are not just reasonable but are in the best interests of the public and our patients and would also help prevent our doctors leaving the NHS.”

About Resident Doctors

Junior physicians have as much as eight years of experience working as a hospital doctor, depending on their specialty, or as many as three years in general practice.

More details will follow soon.