To think the BMA have misjudged with another doctor's strike?

[Locutus2000]

Last year they got more than anyone else in the NHS along with an improved deal. Nurses and other AHPs received lower rises.

BMA have just announced another 'resident' doctor strike continuing to chase pay restoration to 2008 levels.

Having just had the major win with changes to IMG prioritisation and the clamp-down on PAs it feels a bit tone-deaf and I can't see Streeting going for it.

It is not personal.

Given the challenges that the majority of her peers are facing, I do think your daughter's proposed action is both selfish and unprofessional.

A lot has been said about the responsibility doctors carry. It was even been claimed that PAs are unsafe.

It is very possible people will die because of this strike. Or spend months more waiting for appointments and treatment. Unprofessional.

The good thing about this ? More people now know about doctor unemployment and the stupidity of constant rotational training.

Hardly. The general public have always held doctors in high esteem.

However when people are struggling to keep a roof over their heads and wondering how they can feed their kids over the summer holidays then supporting a profession that has just had a huge increase that the rest of us can only dream of is low on the list of priorities.

Utterly tone deaf to the point of embarrassment.

@Needmoresleep no one will die as consultants will cover like last time. Infact wards were better staffed during the strikes as you well know. Didn’t your DD strike last time ? Does that make her unprofessional ? Did she give back the pay rise they won if she didn’t strike ? It’s a democratic right, and they won’t be paid.

@Willyoujustbequiet doctors are affected by cost of living too. They don’t live in a bubble where rent and bills don’t exist. Many are also struggling with families. Some GPs are driving Ubers as no jobs.

The huge increase was from £15.33 to £17.56 an hour. Is that massive ?

Which is worse 'scabbing' or neglecting patients?

They won't get more money. Or if they do it will be at the cost of their generous pension benefits. Wes cannot afford to give in. Indeed if is believed that last time it was Starmer who forced him to give in. Wes had wanted to use the money for NHS improvements.

What happens to those who don't belong to the BMA. I cannot see my Asian friend's IMG son striking. His aim is to get his training and then go home to work as a private consultant At which point he will earn plenty, so why would he risk it for a short term gain.

I read that technically from FY2 you can do private work but no one does. But mostly from ST3?

@Needmoresleep but they are not neglecting patients? Consultants will be covering ? I assume you believe no public sector worker should be allowed to strike ? Many won’t strike, and that is their right. But to take shifts, at extra money, to undermine others is wrong in my book.
I believe the lack of jobs is more important and will equally support doctors in that fight too. And nurses.

@Gghhhd where did you read this ?

Any sympathy I may have had towards them disappeared when I heard that they are 'excited about striking'. Bloody disgusting attitude.

Even in their first year they are paid around the average income.

They'll be in the top 10% before they know it.

Its shameful to ask for more in their circumstances and the current climate.

I’m increasingly frustrated by the entitled attitude from some doctors and the BMA. A rep recently claimed that plumbers earn more than doctors—an elitist and inaccurate comparison considering doctors’ long-term earning potential. Then another doctor appeared on the Jeremy Vine show and refused to take calls from the public. As an ex-medic myself, I’ve seen firsthand how some are drawn to the status and authority the role gives, not just the responsibility.
They’re campaigning for higher pay, but it feels out of touch with the wider reality—many others in the UK have faced wage stagnation or cuts too. I’d be more sympathetic if their fight included all NHS staff. A hospital runs on a full team—nurses, porters, cleaners, clerical staff—not just doctors.
In my experience, the BMA acts more like a club for self-interest than professional advocacy. I once attended a conference where a senior member sweet-talked a hotel worker into letting him and his mates into another doctor’s room as a prank. That worker nearly lost her job over it.
So, do doctors deserve more pay? In my view—no more than any other profession that’s been hit hard. Let’s not overlook the backbone of the NHS and other sectors who keep the country going, often without fair recognition.

@JohnTheRevelator that was the press saying that. Not the doctors. Spin did the job it seems ! None of them are excited about losing money.

@Sparklybutold it’s not allowed to include all the NHS, and they are on different pay scales anyway. And I agree, most other public services deserve more money. But this shows other areas of the economy have not all suffered the same wage derogation.

The consultants in your DDs deanery must have had more spare capacity than most.

I posted above that after the English settlement DDs deanery had a rather cursory strike, as in 'don't forget us'. The devolved government quickly said that they could not afford the English settlement. Instead they were offered a small amount...deferred. And I dont think their contract terms have been upgraded to the English ones either. . In any case strike action started at 9.00am. The rule was that if you were in work before then, you stayed. Most shifts start at 8.00am.

The money just isn't there. And doctors are relatively well paid in an area where there is a lot of deprivation and the cost of living is low.

DD always thought is should be about working conditions. Burnout at all levels from F1 to Consultant is worrying. That is the issue. Senior staff are leaving in significant numbers. Pay wont keep them if the demands on staff just keep increasing.

They won't be striking this time because many will be unemployed.

I support Ur DD.

Not quite so well paid in other areas, London weighting for doctors is £2,000 and for rest of NHS £8,000. Simple things like this could be changed.

I hate that many doctors are unemployed, more than anything else. I have tried v v hard to do all I can to change this as you know. And still am, this fight has not finished.

Let’s hope talks are productive this week and strikes do not happen, no one wants them.

All doctors seem to care about these days is money. What happened to the Hippocratic Oath?

But to take shifts, at extra money, to undermine others is wrong in my book.

Are CT1s really expecting their unemployed peers, relying on a few NHS bank shifts each month to keep the wolf from the door, not to take additional work to cover strike action. So the CT1s can get more pay?

Entitled or what?

The NHS heros who all love the UK system because they aren't greedy

It’s been an interesting discussion today. I’m off to drive kids home and then a normal working week so you’ll be glad to hear I won’t be around much 😊.

Next week I’m running UCAT training sessions. I still think it’s a great profession, just not quite as great as it could be.

@OonaStubbs hypocrstic oath is not a thing, mainly as it bans abortion. It’s a job, not slavery.

They aren't slaves. They have a good wage. I'd understand if they somehow were on UC/using food banks but they have it a lot better than others. And with each year they progress to the next stage they get paid more.

@Needmoresleep if people want to take the bank shifts that’s their right. No one will stop them, but it’s going to cause division, which is exactly what the government want. But it’s a free country, to strike or not strike, and to scab or not scab. People can choose their own path.