Junior Doctors on strike again
unior Doctors are striking again - this time for 4 days, including one weekend. It takes a lot for a normally resilient and compliant workforce to go on strike, and the reasons are complicated. But hey are about more than pay. They are about the future of the NHS; to resolve a workforce crisis that is causing doctors to emigrate and to enable a functioning NHS to deliver quality care again.
So what has been the reaction of the media? The BBC looked at the pay slip of Dr Gittings (a first year registrar in London pictured above), which showed his rate of £14.08 per hour, but with the addition of the London premium (which most registrars don't get) and smaller payments for extra duty hours, night call and nights/weekends. Dr Gittings had worked 189 hours that month. His salary before tax was £3117.
The clear message from the BBC is that junior doctors are in fact paid a lot more than they say they are - yet the hourly rate of £14.08 for core hours is not boosted for overtime, compulsory nights or compulsory weekends every 5-6 weeks.
The wider issues that led junior doctors to strike have not been addressed by the BBC. Junior doctors have had a bad deal for years, but why are they on strike now? Probably because the government has refused any dialogue with them. They think the public can be persuaded that junior doctors are well paid.
The government blames a so-called 'militant core' of junior doctors for long waiting lists and reduced access to services, thus deflecting the blame away from itself. The worst misrepresentation is the number of operations and clinic appointments said to have been cancelled because of the strikes. Since the strike is only for two working days, the worst case scenario is that only two extra days could be added to the waiting lists for operations - but what hospital would deliberately schedule operations and clinics on days when it knew several weeks in advance that there would be no junior doctors available to do them? It was not junior doctors or even consultants striking for a few days that created the 7.5 million waiting list, which had doubled under this Government even before Covid.
It is obvious that junior doctors are a stressed workforce in a fight for their livelihoods and the future of the health service. In their own words, they "can't take it anymore". The inescapable conclusion is: This government is happy to let the NHS fail rather than negotiate to improve it.
If you are a junior doctor struggling with the NHS and doubting your future, 1:1 coaching with a trained executive coach will give you the time and space to understand why you feel the way you do, to consider your work options and the opportunities you have to take control of your future. I worked in the NHS for 43 years, as a junior doctor, consultant and board member. I understand what you are experiencing.
Please book a confidential, free, no obligation 30 minute conversation here.