Intern doctors in England began a five-day strike a week before the general election in Britain, demanding higher wages, the British Medical Association (BMA) trade union said in a statement on its website.
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“Training doctors began their 11th round of strikes in England today after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak failed to prevent further action by failing to commit to restoring pay,” it said.
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Over 15 years, wages have fallen in real terms by more than a quarter, the union said. “Restoring” payments involves increasing them to take into account losses caused by inflation over these years.
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The strike will last from June 27 to July 2, with protests beginning and ending at 7 a.m. local time.
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In total, about 25 thousand intern doctors will picket. In this regard, the English health service expects disruptions in the provision of care against the backdrop of the already high load on the system due to extreme heat, the article says.
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The UK healthcare system has been suffering from a severe shortage of healthcare workers for many months. More and more people are leaving the profession due to excessive workload, rising prices and lack of opportunity to improve their skills. The situation is aggravated by strikes by medical staff. The number of people waiting for care in England reached 7.75 million in August 2023, the highest level on record since 2007, according to Britain’s National Health Service (NHS). An international analysis of healthcare systems, The Health Inclusivity Index, was previously published, according to which Britain ranked one of the last in the world in terms of waiting time to see a doctor.
