Thousands of junior doctors in England have embarked on their 11th strike, a five-day walkout that has significantly disrupted hospital services. This action comes just days before the UK’s general election, underscoring the ongoing issues plaguing the National Health Service (NHS), a chronically underfunded public health system that is a major concern for voters. The strike, which began on Thursday and will continue until Tuesday, highlights the deep-seated dissatisfaction among junior doctors, who represent about half of the total medical workforce and are crucial to hospital and clinic care. The dispute between junior doctors and the government has been brewing since late 2022, fueled by concerns over pay and working conditions. The British Medical Association (BMA), the doctors’ union, contends that junior doctors’ pay has decreased by a quarter over the past 15 years. They are demanding a 35 per cent pay raise, arguing that their current pay is insufficient, especially considering the demanding nature of their work. Newly qualified doctors reportedly earn around £15 ($19) per hour, slightly above the UK’s minimum wage of just over £10 per hour. While salaries increase rapidly after the first year, the BMA argues that the overall decrease in pay over time has created a crisis in morale and has led to a brain drain as doctors seek better opportunities abroad. In the last financial year, junior doctors received a pay rise averaging nearly 9 per cent, bringing the starting salary to over £32,000. Those nearing the end of their training currently earn in excess of £63,000. These figures, however, represent only the basic pay. Junior doctors, like other NHS staff, receive additional compensation for unsocial hours and additional work, which can amount to 25 per cent to 30 per cent of their basic salary. The junior doctor contract stipulates that they can be asked to work up to 48 hours a week, exceeding the standard 40-hour workweek. The impact of the strike on health services has been significant. This latest walkout follows a series of strikes, including a six-day strike in January, which was the longest in NHS history. These strikes have resulted in the cancellation of tens of thousands of appointments and operations, causing significant disruption to patient care. The current strike is expected to exacerbate these problems, with NHS England predicting particularly severe disruption due to the combined impact of the strike and heat-related health issues. The previous ten strikes have already led to the cancellation of 1.4 million outpatient appointments and operations, costing the NHS £1.7 billion. Dr. Sumi Manirajan, deputy chair of the junior doctors committee in the BMA, has spoken out about the dire situation, telling AP, “Doctors that I trained with in London, some of the best in the country, have left to go to New Zealand. And actually what it makes me think of is why am I not doing the same? I want to be valued for the work that I do.” She also highlighted the impact on patient care, noting that many patients wait over a year for routine procedures, causing significant pain and distress. The Conservative government has responded to the strike by stating that it provided junior doctors with pay raises of between 8.1 per cent and 10.3 per cent last year, calling it a “generous settlement.” However, the government maintains that it cannot make a new pay offer during the pre-election period. Manirajan criticized the government’s timing of the election, claiming that the government is deliberately avoiding a resolution to the dispute. The opposition Labour Party, which is currently leading in polls, has expressed a willingness to engage in discussions with junior doctors. Labour leader Keir Starmer stated that he would open talks with junior doctors “on day one” if elected. Wes Streeting, the UK shadow health secretary, echoed this sentiment, promising to negotiate a solution. Dr. Shivam Sharma, a junior doctor on the picket line outside St. Thomas’ Hospital in London, described the state of Britain’s health service as “terrifying.” Speaking to AP, he pointed out the decline in standards, stating, “We used to have real standards in this country. Patients need to be seen at A&E (hospital emergency rooms) within four hours, and now you’re lucky to be seen within 12. Last winter we had 500 avoidable deaths a week. That’s like a Boeing jet of patients going down. It’s completely unacceptable.” The strike has also sparked internal debate within the BMA about the timing and efficacy of the walkouts. Some senior figures believe that striking so close to the general election is counterproductive and risks alienating potential Labour allies. One senior BMA member told BBC, “I and none of the doctors I work with can understand what the strike is hoping to achieve. There’s no government to negotiate with. And the opposition health secretary has declared it will be his first priority in office to rectify it and called on the [junior doctors] to cancel it.” Despite these internal disagreements, the BMA’s junior doctors committee co-chairs, Dr. Robert Laurenson and Dr. Vivek Trivedi, have stated their readiness to continue striking if necessary. They have expressed a willingness to phase in the pay restoration over several years, raising hopes that a resolution might be within reach. The strike has elicited strong emotions from junior doctors. Matthew Alexander, a junior radiology doctor, expressed the sentiments of many striking doctors, to The Guardian: “I’m itching to get back to work, to get back to the grindstone. Nobody wants to be here, nobody wants to be on strike.” Sarah Peters, a junior doctor in neurosurgery, added, “It is hard. Just explaining to family members is hard and knowing that your colleagues are going to have a more difficult day at work because you’re not there. I didn’t come into this profession for this; I came into it to help people, but we have no choice but to strike. It is sad that it has come to this.” The broader implications of the strike are significant, with many junior doctors considering leaving the NHS for better opportunities abroad. Dr. Tom Sharp, a GP trainee in Leeds, told The Guardian, “I think junior doctors are fed up at the poor pay and conditions and that’s why so many are leaving for places like New Zealand, where pay and conditions are so much better.” Emma Runswick, a junior doctor in Greater Manchester and deputy chair of the BMA council, shared similar experiences, noting that friends who moved to New Zealand are earning significantly more and do not face the same systemic issues. She stated, “We’ve got to deal with the government we have at the moment and that is one led by Rishi Sunak. We have been asking for 20 months for something credible from him. If we don’t take action our pay is going to continue to fall in real terms and our colleagues will continue to leave the country.” With inputs from agencies.
