STRIKING BMA consultants, picketing outside UCLH hospital yesterday on day two of their action, were adamant that the strike was not just about pay.
It was about defending the NHS which includes paying staff appropriately.
Giving his support to the striking senior doctors, Professor Patel spoke to News Line:
‘I support the strike because it’s more than just money, it’s about cuts.
‘We continually prop up failing services, putting up with so many cuts by young managers pushing pseudo ‘efficiency’ drives.
‘Doctors have no offices. I’m a professor without an office.
‘The media distorts the pay issue by talking about the pay of very senior consultants close to retirement.
‘We are doing 40 per cent more work for 40 per cent less pay. Pay is not the only issue.
‘We are not valued compared with other professionals. There are no doctors’ rest rooms and morale is very low.
‘It’s just “efficiency, efficiency, efficiency”,’ he concluded.
There was also a strong picket at St George’s University Hospital in Tooting, South London yesterday.
Consultant Neurologist Jeremy Isaacs spoke to News Line. ‘There is widespread support within the profession and beyond.
‘Yesterday (Thursday) there was a very well attended rally at BMA headquarters.
‘Mick Lynch, RMT leader spoke in solidarity with doctors. We’ve got well attended picket lines up and down the country.
‘We’re in it for the long haul. This is just the beginning. Why should we be paid one third less? Billionaires have not only kept their money but have increased it, making money out of the pandemic, while people who put their lives at risk have had their pay cut.
‘The government made a choice not to negotiate. That was a political decision. We will fight on until we get properly paid for what we do, whatever government is in power.
‘We want our terms and conditions restored to what they were before all these cuts’.
Ouma Pillay, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, said: ‘People point out that consultants get well paid. And we are compared to lots of people.
‘But there are people in legal and financial services that get paid a lot more. We’re not greedy, just realistic.
‘Our pay has been cut in real terms for the last 14 years. We want recognition for the work that we do’.
