The junior doctors who have made the tough decision to walk out in their fight for fair pay
MORE than a dozen NHS staff gathered at the picket line at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff yesterday morning, Chloe Atkinson reports.
They held signs with messages such as “cuts so deep even a surgeon can fix it” and “reduced to clear, 29% off Welsh doctors” while passing motorists honked their horns in support.
“None of us want to be here striking, we’d much rather be helping patients, but we have to do something at this point,” said Deiniol Jones, pictured right, a specialist registrar in public health.
He explained how many junior doctors felt a sense of obligation to patient care but couldn’t ignore the fundamental cuts to pay.
Mr Jones added: “If we have to undertake further strikes, we will but of course we’ll do it very reluctantly – we don’t want to.”
Craig George-McDowall, pictured below, a radiology registrar, was also protesting yesterday.
He said: “At the moment we are getting paid £13.55 an hour which is ridiculous – a junior doctor today is not worth a third of a junior doctor in 2008.
“The workload just seems to go up, and up, and up as the years go by.”
Doctors in Wales have experienced a pay cut of 29.6% over the last 15 years which means pay has been cut by almost a third since 2008/9.
Some taking part in strike action yesterday said many junior doctors have decided to emigrate as a way to secure a more profitable salary.
Oba Babs-Osibodu, co-chair of BMA Cymru Wales’ junior doctors committee, said: “I know lots of doctors who are leaving to other countries like Australia – in fact, one of my colleagues left to Australia a few months ago and for the same work we’re doing here they’re earning what I would earn in five or six years’ time, the disparity is shocking.”
He added: “We’ve lost 29.6% of our pay over the last 15 years and our work isn’t 29.6% easier than before.”
Junior doctor Imogen John said current conditions may put individuals off a career in healthcare.
Imogen said: “There are currently lots of junior doctors that are leaving the NHS, lots of people that are actually being put off the profession.
“If we want an NHS that is effective and sustainable and delivers good care to patients in the future, we need to have serious discussions about this matter.’”
There is a mass demonstration planned outside the Senedd building in Cardiff Bay today over the pay dispute. In a statement released last week, the Welsh Government said: “Patient safety will be protected during strike action.”
Health Minister Eluned Morgan said: “We remain committed to working in social partnership with the British Medical Association and NHS Employers, and we are grateful for the collaborative approach to ensuring patient safety is protected during the industrial action.
“We expect non-emergency and elective activities to be stood down during this period, and for services to resemble those generally provided on a bank holiday.
“If you have a critical need to attend an emergency department you should still do so.
“We urge everyone to consider the best option for them, including using 111 online or phone service, or their local pharmacy.”