Page 24 | Resident doctors synicsl strike again

uneffingbelievable · 2026-03-25T20:22:03+00:00

The resident doctors have once again announced a 6 day strike to co incide with a bank holiday weekend. Whilst I support fair pay and working conditions I have lost all sympathy with them. This is not poverty when you are being paid as a whole package 40-95000 gross on a 44 hr week depending on your seniority. The arguments about lack of jobs did not stack up with more jobs going to home graduates than IMGS despite the hysteria and a huge number of home graduates not even bothering to apply. They are coming across as tone deaf and entitled or am I missing something.

Original poster

uneffingbelievable · 28/03/2026 09:05

Yes FY1 and 2 average salaries are around 45k - they are starter jobs in fact FY1 you are not fully registered. Many of these 4 month posts have no out of hours component so pay is less thn a busy one in surgery, medicine, ED

CT1-3 are on an average of 60-70k
ST3-5 75~
ST6-8 80+

No one in there right mind can say that is not a decent salary, you are being paid for your time and experience which is why pay goes up!

As to knowing what a resident doctors shift is - yes I do, working over my shift yes, cursing my colleagues for leaving all the jobs to the next person coming on - yes I do. So I know that everyone has time to get a drink of water, bite to eat for 10 minutes whilst writing up their notes - not ideal but do able.

Like I said, if they were striking for student loan revamping then I would fully support this but to think that one group of professionals in the NHS should have their pay restored to an arbitrary year on a suspect measure and everyone else gets to continue with their eroded pay - no I do not. That is arrogance beyond belief - why not nurses, physios, management etc

OP posts:

poetryandwine · 28/03/2026 08:20

Neurodiversitydoctor · 27/03/2026 22:12

Sorry but that just isn't true. Biomed which is where career scientists come from is full of failed medics. The hours of lab work don't even come close.

Show quote history

I would not consider timetabled undergraduate hours to be an arbiter of intellectual difficulty or prestige. In intellectual terms I regard medicine as reasonably challenging, not one of the top challenges. PP said students are drawn from the top 25% of undergraduates and that sounds about right.

I was talking about the nation’s most successful you g PhD scientists across a variety of fields who are, collectively, facing a crisis. You appear to be talking about a different cohort.

In any case, if your statement is true I would appreciate data. What % of biomedical scientists do you suppose are ‘failed medics’?

Letsbe · 28/03/2026 07:14

Your post hit a nerve with me. I have two children 28 and 29 still trying to get into training. My lovely son is off to Aus as the training prospects are so much better over there. The rotations London may be close together the ones in many other areas Scotland Wales Yorkshire are not.

I work 37 hours a week as a lawyer. They work far more before being paid any overtime.

PurpleFairyLights · 28/03/2026 00:58

1ladybird · 28/03/2026 00:47

I think you’ve lost the room when you just repeatedly keep banging on and on and on about 96k. This is not an average resident dr salary. It’s misleading. The experienced resident drs who get this amount are 15+ yrs experience (including medical degree).

No you don’t come across at all that you like medical staff! Oozes out of your posts.

Show quote history

I think my favourite is the statement that they know what a medical shift is like. It is comedy gold.

Definitely does not like doctors it really does ooze out of the posts.

1ladybird · 28/03/2026 00:47

uneffingbelievable · 28/03/2026 00:36

I do not hate doctors at all but no one can claim poverty and lack of pay on 96k per annum. To do that is tone deaf.
At no point have I said they are over paid - just this strike is being fought on the wrong battle grounds - reduce the interest on all student loans would be worth more than a 20% pay rise.

I actually love my job, enjoy working with all professions in the nhs - there are entitled idiots in all professions but they are not going on strike at the moment or lying.

WE would all love pay restoration but that would bankrupt the country even more than it is already.
My point is that regardless of education/ training/ expertise etc no one can claim that 96k is not a good salary comparing other careers is pointless - this is the pay and it is OK.
As to what a real life shift of work in the NHS is like - yes I am very aware of what that means and what it is like.
Your condescension and arrogance pours out of your posts - mine as you see is based on fact.

I think you’ve lost the room when you just repeatedly keep banging on and on and on about 96k. This is not an average resident dr salary. It’s misleading. The experienced resident drs who get this amount are 15+ yrs experience (including medical degree).

No you don’t come across at all that you like medical staff! Oozes out of your posts.

PurpleFairyLights · 28/03/2026 00:42

@uneffingbelievable you are not a doctor. You have no idea of the responsibility doctors carry. You will always be on the outside looking in. You really come across as very ignorant of the medical profession (qualified doctors).

Original poster

uneffingbelievable · 28/03/2026 00:36

I do not hate doctors at all but no one can claim poverty and lack of pay on 96k per annum. To do that is tone deaf.
At no point have I said they are over paid - just this strike is being fought on the wrong battle grounds - reduce the interest on all student loans would be worth more than a 20% pay rise.

I actually love my job, enjoy working with all professions in the nhs - there are entitled idiots in all professions but they are not going on strike at the moment or lying.

WE would all love pay restoration but that would bankrupt the country even more than it is already.
My point is that regardless of education/ training/ expertise etc no one can claim that 96k is not a good salary comparing other careers is pointless - this is the pay and it is OK.
As to what a real life shift of work in the NHS is like - yes I am very aware of what that means and what it is like.
Your condescension and arrogance pours out of your posts - mine as you see is based on fact.

OP posts:

PurpleFairyLights · 28/03/2026 00:33

1ladybird · 28/03/2026 00:27

Oh dear - I think it might be time for you to work in a different sector if it pains you so to be around so many dreadfully overpaid doctors!

Are you HR/ payroll?

Yes I understand what London weighting is. That’s precisely why I said about it - you get more for state sector jobs (including nhs) if you work in London… albeit not enough extra often to cover increased costs.

The nodal point 5 you refer to actually covers ST6-8. So same as the st8 I’ve been referencing. They have been qualified drs for around 8-10 years plus the 5 yr medical degree. So not very junior at all. Hence to name change from junior to resident. It was a misleading title. So no, that is not overpaid at all for that level of expertise!

I could be wrong but I’m guessing you might be office based? Seems from your negativity and venom you’re not so clued up on the ins and outs of a real life shift and what it looks like. Only on paper sadly!!

Show quote history

Excellent post.

In my experience this amount of venom towards doctors always has an underlying reason for example missed opportunity to become a doctor themselves.

Walk a mile in their shoes before judging these very special people.

PurpleFairyLights · 28/03/2026 00:28

Wishiwasatailor · 27/03/2026 14:57

yoi are being obtuse. Its just not possible to fully understand the nuances and pressure of being a newly qualified doctor until you become a newly qualified doctor not even as a medical student let alone a 17 year old with limited access and contact to intimately know what it'd like to have responsibility for all the patients in your specialty overnight with minimal supervision or support. Even less possibility to know how 10years in the future what the job conditions, environment and pay scale might be. It was unlikely med school applicants in 2017 would have predicted the open access to international medical graduates to specialty training positions would happen.

Show quote history

Thankfully Streeting has got UK medical graduate prioritisation back in place.

1ladybird · 28/03/2026 00:27

uneffingbelievable · 27/03/2026 21:57

oh dear ladybird - you asked and other than London weighting you do not get paid more in London. Let me spell it out to you and copy from the GWS I was looking at today.

Basic Pay nodal point 5 : 70425
Pay for add hours > 40 - 7.75 hr : 13645
Enhanced pay rate 37% : 652
Weekend allowance 5% 1:6 : 3522
Availability allowance 8% : 5634
London weighting : 2162

Total pay 96040 in London or 93878 outside London

So yes I know what I am talking about.

Yes the job is hard and stressful but conditions are much better than they were and career progression does happen but not always in the simple step wise way some junior doctors think they are entitled to. They may need to get another year of experience before progressing but the majority will progress to where they want to be.

Rather than patronise me because you believe I am not a doctor and therefore not your equivalent intellectually - accept you know nothing about me other than I know the NHS well and resident doctors and consultants pay very well.

Oh dear - I think it might be time for you to work in a different sector if it pains you so to be around so many dreadfully overpaid doctors!

Are you HR/ payroll?

Yes I understand what London weighting is. That’s precisely why I said about it - you get more for state sector jobs (including nhs) if you work in London… albeit not enough extra often to cover increased costs.

The nodal point 5 you refer to actually covers ST6-8. So same as the st8 I’ve been referencing. They have been qualified drs for around 8-10 years plus the 5 yr medical degree. So not very junior at all. Hence to name change from junior to resident. It was a misleading title. So no, that is not overpaid at all for that level of expertise!

I could be wrong but I’m guessing you might be office based? Seems from your negativity and venom you’re not so clued up on the ins and outs of a real life shift and what it looks like. Only on paper sadly!!

Scotiasdarling · 28/03/2026 00:06

uneffingbelievable · 27/03/2026 21:57

oh dear ladybird - you asked and other than London weighting you do not get paid more in London. Let me spell it out to you and copy from the GWS I was looking at today.

Basic Pay nodal point 5 : 70425
Pay for add hours > 40 - 7.75 hr : 13645
Enhanced pay rate 37% : 652
Weekend allowance 5% 1:6 : 3522
Availability allowance 8% : 5634
London weighting : 2162

Total pay 96040 in London or 93878 outside London

So yes I know what I am talking about.

Yes the job is hard and stressful but conditions are much better than they were and career progression does happen but not always in the simple step wise way some junior doctors think they are entitled to. They may need to get another year of experience before progressing but the majority will progress to where they want to be.

Rather than patronise me because you believe I am not a doctor and therefore not your equivalent intellectually - accept you know nothing about me other than I know the NHS well and resident doctors and consultants pay very well.

@uneffingbelievable I think on the last thread about this it emerged that they were counting pay after tax, i.e in a way that no other pay is counted. I don't know but that could well be what is going on here. The level of entitled ignorance is breathtaking.

So instead of looking at the top of payslips showing the hours worked and pay, they looked at the net pay at the bottom, with tax, pension, n.i.contributions and student loan taken off and divided that by the hours worked to come up with their claimed pay per hour!

Neurodiversitydoctor · 27/03/2026 22:12

poetryandwine · 26/03/2026 10:23

I am very sympathetic to the pipeline issues. I wish that were the focus.

The complaints around pay and working conditions are somewhat contradictory: basic pay is around £38K-73K, but the overnight and weekend shifts command a handsome 37% premium. Overtime is also paid, unlike in many professional jobs. So the greater the work load, the less viable the low pay argument.

Not denying that the system is brutal, but the pay compares well to US resident doctor positions. (Those threats to decamp to America made by a previous union spokesperson were to undesirable service-type jobs, that could not be filled by Americans even for debt forgiveness).

Apprenticeships should not be needlessly difficult and the pipeline should be viable. But no, doctors are not more accomplished than young scientists, including medical researchers, who would give a lot for similar levels of competition, compensation and career progression.

Sorry but that just isn't true. Biomed which is where career scientists come from is full of failed medics. The hours of lab work don't even come close.

Original poster

uneffingbelievable · 27/03/2026 21:57

oh dear ladybird - you asked and other than London weighting you do not get paid more in London. Let me spell it out to you and copy from the GWS I was looking at today.

Basic Pay nodal point 5 : 70425
Pay for add hours > 40 - 7.75 hr : 13645
Enhanced pay rate 37% : 652
Weekend allowance 5% 1:6 : 3522
Availability allowance 8% : 5634
London weighting : 2162

Total pay 96040 in London or 93878 outside London

So yes I know what I am talking about.

Yes the job is hard and stressful but conditions are much better than they were and career progression does happen but not always in the simple step wise way some junior doctors think they are entitled to. They may need to get another year of experience before progressing but the majority will progress to where they want to be.

Rather than patronise me because you believe I am not a doctor and therefore not your equivalent intellectually - accept you know nothing about me other than I know the NHS well and resident doctors and consultants pay very well.

OP posts:

OhDear111 · 27/03/2026 21:33

@Arraminta The doctors do seem to think they work harder and longer than anyone else but that’s because they don’t know anyone else! The ones who are not suited to medicine should have realised much earlier and it’s the most unionized profession. The most successful organisations in this country are well run and non unionized.

Arraminta · 27/03/2026 20:30

Wishiwasatailor · 27/03/2026 14:57

yoi are being obtuse. Its just not possible to fully understand the nuances and pressure of being a newly qualified doctor until you become a newly qualified doctor not even as a medical student let alone a 17 year old with limited access and contact to intimately know what it'd like to have responsibility for all the patients in your specialty overnight with minimal supervision or support. Even less possibility to know how 10years in the future what the job conditions, environment and pay scale might be. It was unlikely med school applicants in 2017 would have predicted the open access to international medical graduates to specialty training positions would happen.

Show quote history

Well there's been huge amounts of exactly this information all over the Internet. Especially 'sad face' junior doctors going on Tiktok to moan about their plight.

DH and I were at university with plenty if medics, so I know it's often very tough and long hours. But not all of the time and certainly not forever. And ultimately, they will earn far, far more than 99% of the rest of the population + a pension that is beyond the dreams of just about anyone.

Medicine is tough. But so are most of the sought after professions. DD2 will work in corporate finance for one of the Big Four. During 'busy season' she will be required to work regular 100+ hour weeks. It's beyond brutal, but just the nature of the beast.

1ladybird · 27/03/2026 19:35

uneffingbelievable · 27/03/2026 10:48

1ladybird - US residents also work on average 80 hrs per week - so yes they get paid more but compared to UK doctors whose average is less than 48 they should get more but less for the same hours.

I am not anti resident doctors being paid appropriately - but none of them are being paid badly.

Any generic work schedule for an ST 6 on basic 40 hrs per week with 4-6 horus of over time will come in at over 90K.
Most resident doctors ST/CT3 and above are on 65K+ I am sitting looking at their GWS right now!

And no doctor in the NHS does not have time to have a drink or grab a sandwich - sorry that is ridiculous. Time management and heal theyself doctor come to mind. Even those doing 13hr operations , stop take a break and come back - even if only 20 minutes - the hyperbole on here about what residents do is amazing.

I’m afraid you’re living an alternate reality and not as clued up as you think you are 😆! Look up the pay scales. We are non London ST8 95k due to uplift for weekends/ extra hours/ weekends. Surgical

What location are you? London? That would be only way ST6 earning that much. You didn’t answer that before so suspect you are.

Absolutely staffing that tight in many locations around the UK that it’s that busy. How many shifts do you do a week as a resident dr?

OhDear111 · 27/03/2026 18:57

@Alexandra2001 Well anecdotally loads leave but loads come don’t they? It turns out they are cheaper to employ. I’m not a fan of the profligate nhs as it’s currently run. It’s difficult to know if we need more, but we need to be far more efficient. We don’t use facilities efficiently snd don’t see anywhere near enough patients due to poor organisation. Far too many people go into hospital who are elderly because they are failed in the community. I want to decide when I die having seen the appalling nhs close up. It’s neither kind nor effective for the elderly and I want to be spared going anywhere near it.

Scotiasdarling · 27/03/2026 18:49

@Wishiwasatailor junior doctors never "" have responsibility for all the patients in your speciality overnight" although it does seem to be the narrative that they tell their credulous mothers. In fact patients are always the consultants responsibility, whether they are there or not. The junior doctors responsibility is to decide whether or not they are competent to look after the patient in front of them, and if not ask for help. That is partly how they learn.

Alexandra2001 · 27/03/2026 18:42

OhDear111 · 27/03/2026 13:50

@uneffingbelievable Hyperbole indeed. It suits the strike narrative though doesn’t it. We all know some days and events in a hospital mean a day is ultra full on. We also know that’s not every waking moment. We also know there’s overtime and new contracts for Toil or overtime yet people don’t factor that in. Years ago the difference between a professional and a worker was overtime payments. Professionals just worked when it was required. The doctors are very unionized and now behave like BL car workers and frankly, you cannot believe what they say. Certainly not the lies about earnings and never factoring in the huge public contribution to their pensions that others would literally “die” for. It’s not acceptable for the public to be held to random by well paid doctors for whom we shell out £billions for their pensions and their training. It’s for the best return on ANY degree and yet they just want more and more. I hope the government stands firm. We need defence spending!

Fairly clear you're not on the side of Doctors but do you think we have enough Dr's? does it worry you at all that so many leave the NHS?

Bottom line is, with 70m people and an aging population, we need Doctors, they are the Consultants of tomorrow and we don't have enough coming through to replace those leaving/retiring...

Then what?

In Govt spending terms, to settle this dispute would be relatively cheap and then we can all get on with reducing waiting lists and getting a grip on preventative health.

ElizabethFryIsSpinning · 27/03/2026 18:34

Why does something being a vocation mean that you should be underpaid and under resources.

poetryandwine · 27/03/2026 17:46

OhDear111 · 27/03/2026 09:26

@poetryandwineI think there’s a lot of smoke and mirrors with this. Some doctors might be offered overtime and not toil. I think, as the general public, there’s a lot of interest in getting the waiting list moving and having more efficient and effective A&E. We know we have many part time doctors and organising staffing is a nightmare. I don’t know the fine details of the contract, but these are national contracts. Each trust doesn’t make up their own contractual obligations. It suits striking workers to paint a bleak picture. Obviously. That doesn’t mean it’s the true picture. It’s smoke and mirrors.

I wasn’t very clear, @OhDear111 .

I realise the contract is national. But there is language about how those who violate it may be subject to rolling fines. I wonder whether this is the Trust or the hospital, or what?

And is it serious, or just boilerplate? @Destiny123 should be getting TOIL or overtime, as well as that lovely 37% supplement for working unsocial hours. Unless she is being disingenuous by failing to mention something, that isn’t happening.

I agree a weakness of the union’s presentation has been their misleading arguments around pay - not quite lies, but close. I know enough about residency programmes in America to take an exceedingly dim view of the nonsense Melissa Ryan was spouting in the last round about how resident doctors could go there for double pay. (They can, but not to residency programmes - to service jobs that cannot otherwise be filled, and are no part of career progression.)

The public have a stake in knowing whether the NHS contract with resident doctors is being honoured. If it is not, we all have a problem. But not one that will be solved by a new contract.

OhDear111 · 27/03/2026 15:22

@Wishiwasatailor I completely disagree! The rhetoric about how awful it is to be a doctor is relentless. Never ending for years and years. A young person interested in this career would have to live in a bubble to not hear the deafening squeals! What do the student doctors think the job is? Do they ask no one?

Of course the answer is they do but don’t always see the bigger picture. Some undoubtedly end up in crappy Trusts or, they might have doctor parents who love their jobs. Many dc of doctors carry on the family line of work! Like vets. It runs in families. They might even know other doctors who, whilst accepting the challenges, recognise the positives. It’s not all doom and gloom.

Wishiwasatailor · 27/03/2026 14:57

Arraminta · 27/03/2026 10:20

Then they should have done much more thorough research. But if they didn't bother to do that, then once at medical school (and up to speed on what being a doctor entailed) they could very easily have transfered to a different degree, if they believed the system was unfair, too brutal, underpaid.

They will have top class GCSE and A Level results, after all. So if they're so unhappy with their prospects as a doctor, why not do something else? STEM? Finance?

God knows, medicine is massively over subscribed, so plenty of equally bright and clever students never get a place at medical school.

Show quote history

yoi are being obtuse. Its just not possible to fully understand the nuances and pressure of being a newly qualified doctor until you become a newly qualified doctor not even as a medical student let alone a 17 year old with limited access and contact to intimately know what it'd like to have responsibility for all the patients in your specialty overnight with minimal supervision or support. Even less possibility to know how 10years in the future what the job conditions, environment and pay scale might be. It was unlikely med school applicants in 2017 would have predicted the open access to international medical graduates to specialty training positions would happen.

Marchesman · 27/03/2026 14:27

uneffingbelievable · 27/03/2026 10:48

1ladybird - US residents also work on average 80 hrs per week - so yes they get paid more but compared to UK doctors whose average is less than 48 they should get more but less for the same hours.

I am not anti resident doctors being paid appropriately - but none of them are being paid badly.

Any generic work schedule for an ST 6 on basic 40 hrs per week with 4-6 horus of over time will come in at over 90K.
Most resident doctors ST/CT3 and above are on 65K+ I am sitting looking at their GWS right now!

And no doctor in the NHS does not have time to have a drink or grab a sandwich - sorry that is ridiculous. Time management and heal theyself doctor come to mind. Even those doing 13hr operations , stop take a break and come back - even if only 20 minutes - the hyperbole on here about what residents do is amazing.

I couldn't agree more about the hyperbole. The job is nothing like as difficult and exhausting as it used to be, and the stuff about pay is palpable nonsense.

The average annual earnings in England of CT1/2s to August 2025 was £70942, for F2s it was £55383, and F1s £45754.

When you consider the calibre of some of these characters in the orange hats, this seems more than generous.

OhDear111 · 27/03/2026 13:50

@uneffingbelievable Hyperbole indeed. It suits the strike narrative though doesn’t it. We all know some days and events in a hospital mean a day is ultra full on. We also know that’s not every waking moment. We also know there’s overtime and new contracts for Toil or overtime yet people don’t factor that in. Years ago the difference between a professional and a worker was overtime payments. Professionals just worked when it was required. The doctors are very unionized and now behave like BL car workers and frankly, you cannot believe what they say. Certainly not the lies about earnings and never factoring in the huge public contribution to their pensions that others would literally “die” for. It’s not acceptable for the public to be held to random by well paid doctors for whom we shell out £billions for their pensions and their training. It’s for the best return on ANY degree and yet they just want more and more. I hope the government stands firm. We need defence spending!