Merseyside medics say industrial action is ‘last resort’ as the NHS ‘haemorrhaging’ staff
It's on top of hospitals facing more disruption, with nurses strikes looming later this month
A ballot has opened today for junior doctors in England who will vote on whether to take strike action in March.
The British Medical Association (BMA) has today told the Government that, if a ballot for industrial action is successful, junior doctors will begin their action with a three day 'full walkout.'
The BMA said numerous governments have overseen 15 years of real terms pay cuts for junior doctors in England, which amounts to a "staggering and unjustifiable" 26.1% decline in pay since 2008/09.
Dr Lettie Patel is a junior doctor in Merseyside and a chief officer at the British Medical Association.
She told us: "Junior doctors have seen some of the greatest pay cuts of any profession.
"We've seen real time pay cuts in their amounts of 25 to 30% since 2008 and what we're seeing in the NHS is a crisis point.
"We've got real problems with workforce, we've got problems with patients accessing the service, not just routine service but actually emergency service and we're leaking.
"We're haemorrhaging healthcare staff, including doctors.
"What we're asking for, up and down the country is pay restoration, and that's really important, we just need pay to be restored to what it would have been had we had the the natural inflation rise since 2008, which we haven't."
The BMA has urged the Health Secretary Steve Barclay to meet with doctors and negotiate a solution to avoid strikes.
The association said the Health Secretary continued to "ignore" invitations from the BMA to meet with doctors to discuss their pay.
Dr Patel told us: “The NHS is at crisis point.
“We're seeing cues of ambulances. We're seeing patients wait tens of hours in A&E and this is meant to be our emergency care point.
"The NHS is not coping, so we've got a government that's simply isn't listening to the concerns of patients, of society, of the health of the nation.
“We've got a government that does not want to engage with frontline healthcare staff, including junior doctors. This is preventable.
“It is a last resort that doctors are taking and we're willing to listen to the good to talk to the government if they're willing to listen to ours.”
The Prime Minister has invited some union leaders to talks today (Monday 9th January 2023) about the wave of strike action across the country.
Rishi Sunak says he wants to have a frank discussion as he considers new laws cracking down on industrial action.
Dr Patel said strikes are a "last resort" but unless something is done now the NHS could suffer.
She said: "You can't simply expect massive pay cuts to go on for decades and think nobody's gonna question this. 25 to 30% is massive. It's a huge amount.
"Let's be absolutely clear here. Junior doctors are not asking for a pay rise.
"They're asking for pay restoration and their pay bit not been degraded over the over the last 14 years. And I think the government need to bear that in mind. when they come to the table. And I hope they do. They come knowing that."
Miriam Deakin, director of policy at NHS Providers said: "Should junior doctors vote for industrial action, trust leaders will do everything they can to minimise disruption and prioritise the safe delivery of care and services for patients."