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Doctors in England are preparing to begin a five consecutive day strike next month, in protest over jobs and pay.

Walkout Information

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

Junior physicians, who make up nearly 50% of all medical staff in the National Health Service, are proceeding with the strike after failed negotiations with the government.

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, urging the health secretary to end the crisis of unemployed physicians.”

“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 go unfilled. This is a situation which cannot go on.”

He continued, “We talked with the government in good faith, keen for the minister to understand that a deal including options to gradually reverse the cuts to pay over a number of years, giving newly trained doctors a raise 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 patients and would also help prevent our doctors departing from the NHS.”

About Resident Doctors

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

Further information are expected soon.