🔗 Share this article Resident Physicians in England to Stage Five Consecutive Day Walkout in November Doctors in the UK are preparing to begin a five consecutive day strike next month, in protest over jobs and pay. Strike Details The British Medical Association (BMA) announced 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 doctors in the National Health Service, 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 been negotiating for the past week with officials, urging the health minister to resolve the scandal of doctors going unemployed.” “Our survey reveals half of second-year doctors in England are facing unemployment, their skills going to waste whilst millions of patients wait endlessly for treatment and hospital shifts remain vacant. This cannot continue.” He continued, “We negotiated sincerely, 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 pay increase of only £1 per hour for the next four years.” “We trusted the authorities would recognize that our demands are not just reasonable but are in the best interests of the community and our patients and would also help prevent our physicians departing from the NHS.” About Resident Doctors Resident doctors have as much as eight years of experience practicing in hospitals, depending on their specialty, or as many as three years in general practice. More details are expected shortly.