Doctor who trained for nine years reveals payslip as NHS colleagues go on strike

A London doctor who spent nearly a decade in training has left people stunned after posting his monthly payslip online.

Dr Souradip Mookerjee bravely shared his lacklustre paypacket which left him with just over £1,600 for the month, despite sky-high London rentals and soaring bills.

It comes as thousands of junior doctors voted to walk out this week in the latest batch of NHS strikes.

Members of the British Medical Association (BMA) opted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action in a row over pay, with plans for a 72-hour walkout which could happen as soon as next month.

Dr Mookerjee tweeted his payslip from the last payday at the end of January, as he revealed he was voting to go on strike.

His total sum to live off for the month in London was £1,671.47 after paying more than £1,000 in tax, National Insurance and his student loan.

The average rent costs in London for last year meanwhile stood at £935 a month – up by 22% from 2021 – according to rental site Spare Room.

The junior doctor wrote: “[M]y salary as a doctor in London working 40h weeks after 9 years of uni at Cambridge and a PhD #BMADoctorsVoteYes“.

The doctor, who has also won prizes for research papers into genetics, palliative care and patient safety, studied at the world-class institution from 2013 graduating last year, whilst having also completed a PhD during his studies.

He said the payslip showed his earnings for the whole month of January, which included London weighting, adding that his total salary for the year was £29k before tax.

A record 37,000 BMA members, including Dr Mookerjee, turned out to vote in the ballot announced this week, totalling more than 77% of members.

They’ll join colleagues in the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association who voted in favour of action for the first time in the union’s history.

Surveys by the BMA meanwhile have reported that more than 70% of members admitted to treating patients despite not feeling well enough to work, while around 40% said they planned to leave the NHS as soon as they could find another job.

It’s estimated the strikes could lead to 125,000 operations needing to be rescheduled, despite there already being a backlog of about 57,000.

The Government said doctors will have seen a 8.2% uplift in pay by the time they reach the end of a four-year contract later this year, at the end of which would be the “appropriate time” to discuss pay.

The BMA however said junior doctors starting on salaries of between £25,000 and £30,000 have seen real terms pay cut by 26.1% over the last 15 years, and that ministers have been aware “for months” about their concerns.

Dr Robert Laurenson, co-chair for the BMA’s junior doctors committee, said the Government was “not respecting what a lot of doctors are saying”, which was “doctors are not worth a quarter less than they were in 2008”.

The co-chair added that many junior doctors were eyeing up the prospect of working in countries like Australia and New Zealand where wages were higher, with the transition window in August a chance when they could emigrate if pay didn’t improve, setting Brits up for another winter of long waits and chaos.

Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive at NHS Providers said: “Leaders across the NHS are deeply concerned about the impact this will have on their ability to deliver care, especially as hospitals will now be left without emergency cover by junior doctors for three days straight.

“An urgent resolution is needed if we are to prevent harm to patients and the NHS,” she added.