🔗 Share this article Resident Physicians in the UK to Stage Five-Day Strike Next Month Doctors in England are set to begin a five consecutive day strike next month, due to disputes regarding pay and employment. Walkout Information The British Medical Association (BMA) announced that junior physicians will strike for five days in a row from 7am on 14 November to 7am on 19 November. Resident doctors, who constitute nearly 50% of all doctors in the NHS, are proceeding with the strike after unsuccessful talks with the government. Causes of the Walkout Dr Jack Fletcher commented, “We did not want to reach this point. We have spent the last week in talks with government, urging the health minister to end the crisis of doctors going unemployed.” “We know from our own survey 50% of second-year physicians in England are facing unemployment, their talents being unused whilst millions of patients wait endlessly for treatment and hospital shifts remain vacant. This is a situation which cannot go on.” He added, “We talked with the government in good faith, hoping the minister to see that a agreement offering solutions to slowly restore the pay reductions over several years, giving recent graduates a raise of just a pound an hour for the next four years.” “We hoped the government would see that our asks are not just fair but are in the interest of the community and our patients and would also help prevent our physicians leaving the NHS.” Who Are Resident Physicians? Resident doctors have anywhere up to eight years’ experience practicing in hospitals, based on their field, or up to three years in primary care. Further information will follow shortly.