Members of the British Medical Association (BMA) held picket lines at hospitals across the country in the ongoing dispute over training places and pay – but they’ve criticised over this latest action having already received hefty pay increases.
Defiant resident doctors defended their strike action today – and warned they were fighting for ‘the future of the NHS‘.
Members of the British Medical Association (BMA) held picket lines at hospitals across the country in the ongoing dispute over training places and pay. They have been criticised over this latest action having already received hefty pay increases since Labour came to power.
The six days of action will cost the NHS £300m. But around 30 young doctors and their supporters, on a picket line at the RVI in Newcastle, insisted they wanted fair pay and to safeguard the future ‘lifeblood’ of the workforce.
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Luke Armstrong, 24, originally from York but now working for the NHS on Teesside, said training places were a key issue.
“I know many doctors who have qualified and are going abroad,” he told the Mirror. “Some are applying to Australia and New Zealand. Some have been trained but are now looking for other jobs.
“A bottleneck exists with newly qualified doctors who cannot find jobs. But some are leaving the profession.”
He has a student debt of £108,000 and is paying it back at around £150-a-month. “I will be paying that for the next 30 years so it is an extra tax. But the main issue is getting a job.”
Dr Harry Waterman, 27, in Newcastle for his second year of speciality training at the RVI, defended the strike action as a battle for future generations of doctors.
He said: “What we want is a deal where we know what we are getting. The offer at the moment is not good enough. We need a pathway for young doctors to enter the profession.
“We got 28 percent when Labour first came into power; this was a cumulative deal after 20 years of disputes. Compared to 2008, this figure is down by a fifth when adjusted for inflation. We have experienced years of pay erosion.
“We don’t want to strike. A first year qualified doctor will earn around £38,000 a year with additional pay for extra hours. After five years of medical school with no earnings, the situation hits doctors harder because they must train longer.
“We want a reasonable wage. Pay has been eroded, future GPs and doctors cannot find jobs, and patients face inordinate wait times. To improve this situation, we need future consultants.”
The BMA last month rejected a deal that would have taken resident doctors’ pay rise over the past three years to 35 per cent and created thousands of speciality training places that would have allowed members to further their careers. If they had accepted, they would have been earning £100,000 a year, while those in their first year out of medical school would have started £52,000 on average.
Mr Streeting said: “At a time when everyone’s feeling the pinch, this latest round of costly industrial action is the last thing the NHS – and the country – needs. The Government is providing the NHS with record funding, but the BMA’s resident doctors committee’s rash action is sapping the health service of vital funds.
“A six-day strike is likely to cost well over £250million and so the BMA has lost their members an additional 1,000 training places, as that funding must now cover this multi-million-pound walkout. I’d once again urge the BMA to call this off, look again at our generous offer, and put the needs of patients and the country first.”
NHS England admitted this week’s walkout will be ‘difficult’ but stressed services remain open and patients should continue to attend A&E and dial 999 or 111 as usual. They should also attend scheduled appointments unless they are contacted and told otherwise.
Sir Jim Mackey, chief executive of NHS England, said: ‘The NHS has made real progress this year in bringing waiting times down and the money we have to spend on managing this damaging and disruptive strike could and should be being ploughed into reforming patient care.
‘It’s not just the financial cost of industrial action that is taking a mounting toll – it’s the time, effort and sacrifices that all other staff have to make to provide cover and keep patients safe while the BMA takes to the picket lines.
‘We can’t, and won’t, let the BMA torpedo the very real progress we’re making in improving the NHS and I want to thank all those doctors and nurses who are picking up the strain this week to keep vital services running for patients.”