UK doctors stage 48-hour walkout over new contract
Junior doctors hold placards as they take part in the start of a 48-hour strike on their picket line outside St Thomas' Hospital in London, Wednesday, March 9, 2016. Thousands of junior doctors in England have walked off the job for the third time in recent months in a dispute over pay and working conditions. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Thousands of British doctors have begun a 48-hour strike in an acrimonious dispute over a new contract.
The junior doctors will only provide emergency medical care during the walkout, which started Wednesday morning. National Health Service officials say more than 5,000 medical procedures have been canceled.
It's the doctors' third strike of the year, with more planned.
The strikes stem from a dispute over pay and working conditions between the government and the British Medical Association. A key sticking point is payment for weekend shifts and whether Saturday should be treated as a normal working day.
Junior doctors pose for a group photograph with Big Ben in the background whilst holding a placard as they take part in the start of a 48-hour strike on their picket line outside St Thomas' Hospital in London, Wednesday, March 9, 2016. Thousands of junior doctors in England have walked off the job for the third time in recent months in a dispute over pay and working conditions. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
The government has said it will impose the contract after negotiations failed. The medical association is seeking to challenge that in the courts.
Junior doctors are physicians with up to 10 years' experience.
Junior doctors hold placards as they take part in the start of a 48-hour strike on their picket line outside St Thomas' Hospital in London, Wednesday, March 9, 2016. Thousands of junior doctors in England have walked off the job for the third time in recent months in a dispute over pay and working conditions. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Citation:
UK doctors stage 48-hour walkout over new contract (2016, March 9)
retrieved 4 May 2024
from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-03-uk-doctors-stage-hour-walkout.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
