Doctor in the East says "future not worth thinking about" as one third of resident doctors become unemployed
The British Medical Association is calling for more training places as part of its ongoing dispute with the Government
A third of resident doctors in the East of England and across the country face unemployment from Wednesday 6 August, according to British Medical Association (BMA) research.
After junior doctors, also known as resident doctors, complete their first two years of training, FY1 and FY2, they enter specialty training to become consultants or GPs.
However 52% of FY2 doctors surveyed by the BMA said they have no substantive employment after their roles come to an end on 5 August.
This is down to a lack of training jobs available, as research shows more than 30,000 doctors are applying for around 10,000 specialty training places.
The BMA East of England representative, Fia Muratib, tells Greatest Hits Radio this is "the latest worry":
"We've been sounding warnings for several years that there is a massive crisis in the medical profession at the moment.
"We've had the worst pay erosion and now we're facing unemployment.
"Personally, I never thought we'd be reaching this point.
"We might get to a point of no return where all these doctors will leave the service.
"I don't even want to imagine the future. If it's like this now, you can imagine how bad it's going to get later."
BMA co-chairs Dr Ross Nieuwoudt and Dr Melissa Ryan have called it "absurd".
"“With more than six million patients on waiting lists in England, it’s maddening that a third of resident doctors say they cannot get a job.
“Throughout this dispute, ballot and industrial action, one thing we have heard from our colleagues is the genuine fear and real worry about being able to secure a job in the future. These survey results show these fears realised.
"Across the NHS, this means potentially thousands of UK doctors are left in employment limbo when patients desperately need their care."
The BMA is calling for more training places as part of its ongoing dispute with the Government.
A Department for Health spokesperson said:
"This government has given resident doctors two above inflation pay rises in a row and we are committed to boosting their working conditions and jobs.
“We have always been open to discussion on career progression and doctor unemployment with the BMA, and want to resume constructive conversations, so urge the BMA to engage with talks in good faith.”