Resident doctors driven out of NHS as crisis deepens under Labour

Resident doctors on the picket line in London (Photo: Guy Smallman)

In hospitals across the country, resident doctors have walked out for pay restoration and for training places.

Under the Labour government, highly skilled workers are leaving the NHS in their thousands every year as they face burnout, eroding pay and relentless workloads.

According to a report in the British Medical Journal last year, a third of doctors said they were likely to leave the profession.

Resident doctor Emma joined the picket line at the Manchester Royal Infirmary. She had a message for the health secretary.

She said, “Wes Streeting can settle this dispute any time he wants with a credible offer. Get us back to pay restoration, reverse these pay cuts and make sure we have the jobs that give us the doctors we need for the future.”

The lack of training places compounds the problem. Every summer, resident doctors finish their two years of foundation training and look for a specialism so they can start training to become a GP or consultant.

This year some 50,000 doctors will ­compete for fewer than 13,000 places.

It means doctors facing unemployment, while six million patients are on waiting lists, often waiting in pain and distress for treatment or surgery.

Josh came to the picket line in central London to show his support for the strikes. He is one of those who left the NHS after trying to find a training place.

He told Socialist Worker, “I used to be a doctor. I trained in Sheffield and graduated in 2023. I worked in the NHS in the north west.

“After two years NHS doctors are asked to pick a specialty. I applied for everything but I didn’t get a single interview.

“Then often people go to hospitals to see if there is an ad hoc post. I went to 60 of them but for every post they had 100 applicants.

“I had to leave the NHS and go into the private sector. If there was a job for me I would love to go back. But I need to pay the rent and I have £80,000 worth of student loans to consider.

“My pay has not even put a dent in the loan.

“I think the strikes are in the right direction,” he said.

Josh is not alone. Matt Percy, a qualified medic with a PhD in microbiology, said his “life is on hold” after being unable to find a permanent job.

Surgical trainee Shonnelly Novintan was rejected in last year’s placement round but was able to find a one-year research fellow contract. It means her training is on hold.

She works without pay in the hospital at weekends to maintain her skills and spends thousands on exams and courses to try to help her in the scramble for training places.

Streeting agreed to offer 1,000 more training places. But he scrapped even this paltry measure after the BMA announced its six days of strikes.

The strikes by the BMA union continue until 7am Monday morning.