In the statement made by the British Medical Association (BMA), it was reported that the 72-hour work stoppage will begin on Monday, 13 March and will end on the morning of Thursday, 16 March.
The statement said that after Health Secretary Steve Barclay refused to attend a meeting to negotiate the salary dispute, “GPs were left with no choice but to strike”.
In the statement, which stated that the strike will also include the doctors on duty at night, the following statements were included:
“We are demoralized, angry, and no longer willing to work for wages that have fallen by over 26 percent in real terms over the past 15 years. This, combined with the stress and fatigue of working in a health care system in crisis, has brought us to the point of 72-hour strike.”
It is foreseen that the possible work stoppage of GPs, combined with the current staff shortage, a record-breaking workload and the ongoing strikes of the health workers, will further increase the pressure on the system.
General practitioners in the UK last went on strike in 2016 due to a new contract.