OVER 1,000 striking junior doctors rallied in Whitehall outside Downing Street on Friday afternoon, at the beginning of another four-day strike to defend the NHS against the Tory government’s privatisation drive.
Co-chair of the British Medical Association Junior Doctors Committee, Dr Robert Laurenson, told the rally: ‘We’ve been 15 days on strike and this government has wasted £1 billion that could have been used to solve this dispute. Our claim is based on fairness, justice and full restoration of pay.
‘£20 an hour is fair and reasonable and not much to ask for a doctor. The BMA has never been as strong as they are today for full pay restoration.’
Vivek Trivedi, co-chair of the Junior Doctors Committee, said: ‘Sunak says strikes caused the waiting lists. This is government spin. We are apparently so valuable that we have caused all the waiting lists but we’re not valuable enough to be paid £20 an hour. Many of us are a hundred thousand pounds in debt.’
Doctors at the rally spoke to News Line. Penelope Osborne, a junior doctor from Suffolk, said: ‘I’ve been struggling to survive. It shouldn’t have to be like that. I work hard. I won’t be able to afford to keep my children and pay my rent.’
Dr Tanmay from St Addenbrokes Hospital, Cambridge, said: ‘Doctors have lost 31.5% of our pay over the last 15 years. This has led to a massive retention crisis.
‘Doctors are leaving the NHS and leaving the profession. There are complex reasons for this, but ultimately we just want to work in a healthcare system that works for patients and allows us to give high quality care.’
Thousands of junior doctors began their four days of strike action manning picket lines outside hospitals around the country.
On the UCH picket line in central London, BMA Junior Doctors co-chair Dr Laurenson told News Line: ‘Over the last 15 years the government has cut our pay by 31.7%, which means a doctor starts on £14 per hour. Doctors have a gritted determination to fight for full pay restoration.’
• Continued in feature & full report in Monday’s News Line
