Unfortunately this is not the case. The basic pay rate is to rise by this much, but there are still to be pay cuts. While some have pointed out that the recommended pay rate to doctors should be even higher, they have forgotten that overall, this is not going to be an 11% pay rise.
And listening to the radio this morning, it was interesting to hear some views. One was that if doctors do not like it, then they may be in the wrong job. Now this makes me seethe as doctors are already leaving the NHS, some to work as a locum, others to work abroad. A friend of mine now works in Australia and earns more for less work than he did in the UK. Where I work, two doctors have left the NHS to work as locums, again for more work and less pay.
But back to Jeremy Hunt, last week he stated that no Junior Doctor would lose out with the contract, then changed his mind, and then today has said the same thing, after improving the terms of the junior contract that he said did not need to be changed.
I would be confused if I did feel that I could trust him. The truth is that with the spin he has spouted since becoming health secretary few trust him. We have constantly been told how the NHS is improving, while those of use who work in the NHS have seen it just get worse and worse year on year. And as we care about the service the NHS gives patients, this is heart breaking and demoralising.
Some argue that the NHS is being prepared for privatisation. If that was the case, then Circle would not have failed in running an NHS hospital. What is happening is that it is being starved of cash. And unlike 1997, when Labour fixed the mess the Conservatives left the NHS in, come 2020 there will not be enough doctors (and other healthcare staff) about to fix it. My answer, fund the NHS properly and pay the staff enough wages that they do not leave to work as a locum or leave for other countries.
