Why NHS junior doctors keep going on strike.

Over 250,000 Brits had their medical appointments canceled. Here’s why
Vlog channel / evanedinger
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[@abs_gart]

Just wanted to say a huge thanks to you for making this video and the amount of effort you've gone into to truely understand the reasons for the strike! I'm a junior doctor in the UK and so many of my colleagues are leaving for Aus/NZ it's harrowing. We need a better funded healthcare service (all staff Inc nurses etc) to help with staff retention and ultimately patient outcomes!

[@Dave_Sisson]

Australian universities train a lot less doctors than they need (from memory only 75%-ish). They actually rely on importing the rest from other countries. So UK taxpayers, who pay most of the cost of training GPs, are actually subsidising the Australian health system.

[@fenneclarose4691]

@@Dave_Sisson the U.K. workforce has a high proportion of IMG doctors so can hardly take the moral high ground on that!

[@Bringon-dw8dx]

@@Dave_Sisson it’s FAR more complicated then this. The ‘cost’ of educating junior doctors is paid mostly to placements, aka NHS trusts. So the NHS gets the money, doesn’t usually spend any of it on the students, and spends it elsewhere within the hospital so meh

[@taffyterrier]

Did they paid back the cost of their taxpayer funded “training”?

[@Bringon-dw8dx]

@@taffyterrier please read my comment above.

[@samanthawhitworth941]

Another thing to add is that the intake number of med school students to universities was cut by around 1000 and has been declining for a while, people want to become doctors and many students have the grades and the passion too, the government is making it incredibly difficult to work as a doctor

[@charliethubron8621]

This! They're hemorrhaging doctors at every level. Those who want to train can't, because of the lack of spaces which is set by the government. Graduates then apply for junior doctor training and can be rejected. Junior doctors are finding it increasingly difficult to practice medicine is in the UK, and leave the profession altogether or move abroad. Its maddening

[@Justcetriyaart]

Wow, why stop people from being doctors?

[@benzo_novatore]

@@Justcetriyaart It’s cheaper for the government, and it also undermines the future of the NHS - a win-win for our current government.

[@joepiekl]

They'd rather just steal them from India and have them pay all of their own training costs instead.

[@ambient675]

​@@danielwebb8402Yes, but their recruitment numbers are too low. Its all to convince the gullible public that the NHS is beyond repair and unsustainable meaning that the only possible solution is private healthcare for all. You really don't want to go that route.

[@Blub_blubby]

My mum has worked in the NHS for over 40 years, my brother has been a physiotherapist since he left uni in 2012 (I'm jealous he got plan 1 and less than £10k debt). Both have found immense hardship with staff and the governments' attitude towards our institution. My brother worked in the private sector for a few years because he was not getting adequate training and pay, as well as finding it hard to progress his career in some ways. My mum has worked in various departments from being in the ambulance, to being a medical-legal secretary. The change that she's experienced is immense. I remember a few years ago, how she was excited to retire before she turned 60, and now last week she said she has to keep working until she's 70 odd, or until she physically can't because my parents are barely affording the bills, and their pensions won't be able to cover it. It's not just the NHS that are struggling, but the families of those who work in it too. Fuck the tories

[@charliedelfino2102]

Tbh though, it's isn't a problem affecting just those connected to the NHS, everyone is realising they'll have to work until they're 70 and can't afford rent/bills/food, including those with specialised jobs. I think if the strikes were all grouped it would have a better outcome for everyone who's affected.

[@ChoobChoob]

Don't forget Junior Doctors used to get free accomodation too in lieu of their already low pay. They also tend to work beyond their shift to make sure the hand-over is thorough.

[@starsINSPACE]

What does accomodations mean here? They had dorms at the hospitals? (Asking because I have no idea, not trying to be annoying lol)

[@chillbooth1879]

@@starsINSPACE here in the uk most of the time its separate housing which is right next to the hospital often times. often quite cheap housing that is.

[@ChoobChoob]

@@chillbooth1879 @starsINSPACE That's it. But it used to be free; which now that I think about it, made sense because some of these Junior Docs did stupidly long shifts they hardly spent time there.

[@littleinfinities]

Thanks Evan 😊 I’m a ‘junior’ doctor (I hate the term) and it’s always heartwarming to hear non-medics taking our side. I have to say in general the public support has been amazing, though the blatant disrespect shown by the government for those in my profession and the occasional troll on Twitter calling us all ‘murderers’ is getting exhausting. We just want the best for our patients, and the current working conditions in the NHS imposed on us by the Tory government make it near enough impossible to give the best care we are so desperate to give. We are overworked, underpaid and undervalued, and as much as I, and many of my colleagues, absolutely do not want to strike, we will keep going until something changes for the better.

[@janebaker966]

It's a dreadful term. I never knew about it until all this started. Like lots of people I suspect I assumed a junior doctor was a medical student doing work experience. Could not the medical council invent a more gravitas term and get it in general parlance. I'm sure the current lot of Tories are slyly benefiting from the term"junior doctor" with it's implications of inexperience and "not so good" ness. They know when they say "junior doctor" it triggers ideas in our minds by word association.

[@CdEmm50]

I support the NHS, you've been great for me. There is waste though, I request my asthma inhaler bi monthly because I ended up with so many inhalers (mart asthma scheme) I don't even have to pay the prescription fee nowadays in the pharmacy 🇬🇧

[@taffyterrier]

Junior doctors are (1) chronically overpaid; (2) chronically underworked; (3) chronically overvalued.

[@robertelliott2026]

And MP's have just voted to give themselves a £2.5k yearly raise!!

[@Laser2120]

Its funny how people come on here and make these random comments that aren't true they don't vote for pay rises ! They dont even have a say on how much they get paid. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) has the legal duty to set MPs’ pay, independently of Parliament and government

[@robertelliott2026]

@@Laser2120 Question- Do MP's have any feedback on their pay? Answer - According to the SCIPSA - YES!! The committee comprises eight MPs and three lay members. The MPs are: the Speaker of the House of Commons (who also serves as its chair), the Leader of the House of Commons, the chair of the Standards and Privileges Select Committee, and five others appointed by the House of Commons who are not Ministers of the Crown.

[@Runeman40055]

@@danielwebb8402 you’re deluded. The MP salary is higher than starting consultant doctor salary. Who on earth would Be happy to pay an MP more than a surgeon or doctor ?

[@barvdw]

Coming from one of only a few countries (Belgium) offering automatic indexation of wages (and really happy with that), they do not avoid all social unrest, unfortunately. We still had a couple of railway strikes, here, major unrest in one of our main grocery chains, and here, too, some economists are warning for certain risks that come with the system, like higher risk of inflation. That said, others have correctly pointed out that a big chunk of today's inflation had nothing to do with rising wages, but more with rising profit margins...

[@driftedspirit]

As an NHS worker thank you for this video. I also wanted to point out the pay rise you mentioned over 3 years wasnt much of a pay rise as the cost of inflation rose, they also increased our pension contributions by 3.1% but this year with the cost of everything going up even more, they’ve increased our pensions contributions by 10.1% “in line with the CPI” since April 10th meaning its actually a pay cut, not a rise.

[@fifinoir]

There was also a rise in tuition fees in about 2012. So those more junior doctors who qualified in the last 10 years also have larger loans to pay back than those from before, who are more likely to be consultants by now anyways.

[@angelachanelhuang1651]

European japanese people. Thank LATIN communities

[@taffyterrier]

Doctors are overpaid.

[@eyesaac965]

I'm actually really glad you got legitimately angry at the Tories in this video. Sometimes it feels as though no one can see the madness that's right in front of them, whether that's because they have been manipulated or choose to look the other way because "It's easier". Well thank you for bringing this to light for some people who may not have had there eyes open previously.

[@andywilliams7323]

And Evan is totally right to be angry at the Tories, for the state of the NHS. But the Labour party also share equal blame. The 1997-2010 Labour Government did more in total resource cuts, such as hospital, A&E and GP Surgery closures than this Tory government has done. This Tory government did further massive resource cuts on top of the massive resource cuts the previous Labour government had already done.

[@eyesaac965]

@@andywilliams7323 Yeah Labour definitely shares a lot of the blame as well as the Lib Dems during the coalition government. The promise/claims of previous cuts to the NHS being a boon for the economy would be laughable if it weren't so tragic. I think that's why there is so much apathy about voting, because it seems as though whoever gets sworn in, the public will undoubtedly face years of austerity and the dwindling of the services that made us proud to be British. You just have to look at the amount of different people serving as Prime Minister during just the Tories most recent term, however, to see the sheer incompetence at play.

[@JustAnotherPerson4U]

😮Evan is it possible you can go back to the days when my jaw will NOT drop from the shock of how the government is essentially taxing us extra with RPI?

[@MrAoldham]

Ha, try being a business, if you under pay or late pay your tax they charge you 6% interest, if you overpay they give you 2% back.

[@proudvirginian]

For perspective, as a critical care medic in Virginia I make the equivalent of £27.39 . My emergency room doctor friend makes at least 10x an hour what I make.

[@Trebor74]

And in America there's no universal healthcare,you can go bankrupt if you get ill and people beg for people not to call an ambulance

[@quintonlee4107]

EMS in the states tend to make very little compared to hospital HCPs, they generate more revenue than in pre-hospital care significantly

[@proudvirginian]

@@quintonlee4107 but I make a boatload compared to junior doctors in Britain. And nurses here make more than I do. It's utterly astounding to think of an MD making less than I do.

[@quintonlee4107]

​@@proudvirginian Very true. There are some Critical Care Paramedics with Helimed that make around £29-45 per hour (potentially higher with enhanced PHEM skills and night shifts will be at the higher end), but it's to be noted that it's all Charity funded for our Air Ambulance Services, not the NHS. Shocking to think that the Air Ambulance Service which delivers PHEM & Critical Care is all charity funded, there are very few schemes that are covered by the NHS for medical staff, but as you can imagine the salaries are very poor for their level of expertise.

[@taffyterrier]

@@proudvirginian doctors in America have to work for their money.

[@haveyoutakenyourmeds]

As a nurse who is also getting screwed over by the government I obviously support my Doctor colleagues. The fact I earn more than a junior doctor is atrocious.

[@taffyterrier]

Doctors are paid more than nurses.

[@mikecook1537]

Why do junior doctors complain so much?? It's not as if they didn't know the salary when they signed up! Why didn't they choose banking or finance if they wanted a well paid job

[@taffyterrier]

@@mikecook1537 Doctors are very well paid. I believe are in the top 1% income bracket. Investment banks are very selective about who they hire and most doctors would not be clever enough to make the grade.

[@DeadDancers]

My major difficulty with maths was that I couldn’t just remember ‘the rules’ if I didn’t understand why it worked that way. None of my teachers ever knew. They had just memorised the rules and expected me to do the same - but if it didn’t make sense, my whole brain revolted.

[@kttt4829]

Same! I’d always ask why it worked that way and would always get back ‘it just does, you don’t need to know why’ . so frustrating 😂😂

[@MerrickKing]

The National Health Service is my country's proudest achievement and it makes me so angry and sad to see how so many people try so hard to dismantle it.

[@janebaker966]

It's already wrecked now. They've achieved it. We need the European system not,God forbid,the USA system.

[@taffyterrier]

It should be scrapped.

[@BootsByTheSea]

As a NHS charge nurse, I work with so many junior drs in critical care and they're essential to the multidisciplinary team! I would love for you to tackle the nurses strikes as well as unfortunately, nurses are still seen as "not essential" and will be forever be compared with drs...

[@eloquentlyemma]

Sorry to be picky but this sort of thing happens time and time again. Junior doctors in England are on strike, but not all of the junior doctors in the UK are on strike. Junior doctors are not on strike in Scotland and currently have no strikes planned. However, they do have a pay dispute with the Scottish Government and are voting on strike action in the future.

[@AntonoirJacques]

This is mainly an NHS England issue and not a UK wide issue. Both Scotland and Wales want to pay doctors more as both have left wing governments

[@Inucroft]

@@AntonoirJacques The SNP isn't left wing. It is centrist coalition.

[@Miss_Lexisaurus]

thanks for adding that context 😊.

[@melaniemurphyofficial]

This made me so sad 😔 ‘U.K. bad sometimes too’ 😩😭 Sooo bad! We’re so short of doctors in Ireland too, their pay is awful for the work they do! If they don’t sort this out, less people in future generations will become doctors … even if people want to save lives for a living, they won’t be able to afford to follow that dream.

[@ajamal5796]

I am a junior doctor who went on strike and I just wanted to say thank you so much for this! Accurate and unbiased analysis unlike the mainstream media

[@ambient675]

This is probably the most comprehensive and factual video that I have seen regarding the NHS and the Conservative government. I am grateful that you took the time to make it. The British people need to remove the wool from their eyes so they can more clearly see what is happening to the country. Its both shameful and frightening.

[@sophyoung920]

I cannot afford to go to the dentist, which means when I eventually do it'll be bc of pain or something bad, which will cost a lot more. The reason my teeth are so bad in the first place is because for years I struggled with depression (meaning i didnt look after myself), something which it took the NHS years to help me with. Waiting lists for mental health are ridiculously long, and at the end of it you usually just get given meds and told to go away. So now my teeth are fucked and I can't afford to fix them. It's mad dental care isn't on the NHS. Especially with research showing gum disease is linked to heart disease. Also hearing care is no longer on the NHS, I had to go to specsavers and pay for a procedure when I lost some of my hearing. They're slowly making more and more things seperate

[@y_fam_goeglyd]

I hear you. Or would, if my tinnitus wasn't so loud!

[@denisemeredith2436]

There is dental care on the NHS but the majority of dentists prefer to be private. I have been with my dentist since 1999, it is a dentist on a University campus, I used to see him as a private patient but now I am an NHS patient and the service is appalling. I need some fillings and have been waiting since January for an appointment.

[@NunontheRun]

I'm stunned when I hear that there are so many people who don't have an NHS dentist.. it's truly shocking - dental health is health! I feel so blessed that I've had an nhs dentist for the past 20 years.

[@Blub_blubby]

@@NunontheRun Most dentistries have turned private now (around 95% of them are private I believe?). I had a text from my dentist a few years ago about how they were struggling with funding and the only way to stay open was to make it a private practice. This comes from a village in a rural area with other surrounding villages.

[@lindyashford7744]

My dentist disappeared years ago, they both retired, haven’t found anyone yet that comes with any kind of recommendation, which I actually need because I am a wheel chair user and have COPD. I go Covid in the first wave, was very fortunately to come out alive but the antibiotic steroid mix decimated my teeth. And there is no one to go to, I need complex extractions, and do not think I will do well under anaesthetic. But no one can give me any info going forward. Yes, dentistry should be on the NHS, there are known serious health risks. So it is a constant concern.

[@rufioh]

For your “state of dentistry” video, you could quote a character from Dr Glaucomflecken - “teeth are luxury bones”

[@charlottejohnson5173]

I love Dr Glaucomflecken!

[@coasttocoast2011]

This is not just an issue in the UK, we’re currently going through EBA negotiations at my workplace here in QLD Australia and they are only offering a 3% wage increase for the next 3 years (for me that’s about $1500). Meanwhile my house loan repayments went from $900 to just under $1500 a month

[@ImranKhan-dr8bb]

Really enjoying the maths behind videos like this, evidence is hard to dispute. Also enjoying hearing you referring to the NHS as ours - back into the fold with you 😅

[@queenkiwi2718]

Thank you for making this video. I'm a staff nurse working for the NHS in Scotland. It's so sad to see Junior Doctors working hard, doing extra hours, overtime etc. just to make ends meet. This shouldn't even be a conversation we have to have in 2023, but sadly here we are. I support our NHS staff in whatever action they have to take to get paid fairly. We all work incredibly hard to meet the basic needs of our patients, but it never feels like enough. Some of my nursing colleagues who work in medical wards are working at a ratio of 1:3 nursing staff for 30+ patients (1 staff nurse and 3 healthcare support workers.) When we have 1/2 sick patients who require more observation, this takes away vital care from others. It's a vicious cycle sadly. Thank you to all of our NHS staff who are working so hard, you all matter and are valued.

[@petermostyneccleston2884]

We always forget about the "Death by a thousand cuts." That is normal everyday life in Britain, just remember that "The British are used to Cuts!"

[@kiradotee]

7:30 omg Evan, this is the first time in my life I realised this!!! I feel like you're the first person ever to notice and bring this to the view of the public. That's very sneaky!

[@KittyKatno17]

As a public sector worker (teacher), my concern is that if junior doctors are (rightfully) awarded their pay increase, the Tory government will say that there's now no more money in the pot for pay increases for jobs not idolised and workshipped as much, such as in education and social work.

[@justadude8369]

If doctors get their settlement its an argument that the money is *actually* there, despite what the Govt keep parroting.

[@justcomments]

There’s no benefit in being idolised if the pay isn’t there. The public should know that kudos don’t pay the bills. Doctors and teachers ought to be comrades on this point, as the general public truly has no conception of how difficult both jobs are.

[@jaydemorton9814]

I feel like thats already happening regardless of what the doctors do cause theres been yearly teacher strikes since I was in high school like 10 years ago and I think the general public does think about them differently. When teachers strike that only really effects parents which are a lot of voters but Tory voters tend to be older and more likley to have grown children so they don't care as much about the disruption but doctors are keeping those old Tory voters alive so they maybe care a bit more. That said I don't think they will care about either group.

[@rikhil_8818]

@Kittykatno17 I’m a student studying accounting and finance with many friends in medicine / teachers. From my personal experience most teachers seem content with their wage to work/responsibility ratio. However Jr doctors on the other hand are drowning in £50k+ debt understaffed working environments, unsocial hours, medical exam fees with only £14/15 per hour for practically running all hospital wards as jr dr’s do. Both fields deserve more however it seems more unjust for the doctors of England

[@rikhil_8818]

@@danielwebb8402 disgraceful, I’d like to see u say the same when a dr saves ur life, or ur family members. Clap for them and ask again if that hour spent saving a life was worth £14

[@anikaphillips1372]

As an Australian we will happily take your unsatisfied doctors.

[@Bringon-dw8dx]

We are coming, just need to finish our foundation years

[@johnlock1605]

I have just accepted a job in AUS. My plans pre-date the current strikes, I saw this coming years ago.

[@darrencornish4433]

I’m a longstanding qualified GP and am on my way too. Trained in Holland and need some sun and safer working conditions

[@minikipp8549]

I really hope that we get a massive cultural shift in the next few years one that favours higher tax so we can pay these people what they deserve for keeping us safe and well!

[@Inucroft]

doubt it... too many idiots believing the scum & the Daily Heil

[@kiradotee]

Also it should be higher for the rich, not for the poor. The poor are already poor, let's not tax them more they already can't afford life.

[@llblumire]

We don't even need higher tax, just stop handing out tax cuts. We're giving 6 times more in cuts to business than it would cost to pay the doctor's.

[@Justcetriyaart]

It's not about high taxes at this point, it's miss management and funneling money into other areas.

[@RaverOperatorGeeza]

​@@Justcetriyaart exactly! Yes I was concerned the above comments had missed this very significant point. Also, in the UK we are already taxed far too much, and then include all the stealth taxes on top. No more!!!

[@CmdrBrannick]

I have a feeling junior doctors are named that so people not in the know just think they're either in training or have just graduated and then they just think young people are complaining again. It really should just be renamed to just doctor or general doctor and then specialists get their fancy names.

[@janebaker966]

Yes. I've suggested that in another post. The Tory crew love the bad mental images that word association pings into our minds at the term "junior doctor." That works in their favour.

[@taffyterrier]

Trainee doctors are learning the job.

[@BoredSoprano]

Which one is the MPs pay increases linked to? Because they always manage to find the money for that.

[@harshilpatel684]

I recently learnt about the day rates of Locum shifts which sounds even more messed up to me in how some junior doctors working in some departments can bid for jobs in addition to their regular working hours which charge upwards of £60-100 per hour, whilst others dont have as many options for shifts and get paid under £20 per hour I'd love to hear more about how locum rates actually work and doctors views on them

[@TheNDofUO]

We stay in training because that's the only way we're eligible to apply to the next level of being a doctor. I don't view full time locums negatively at all and most doctors will do that for at least a year to have more freedom and money. Many people locum also because they can't afford not to. If you want to buy your first home and don't have the bank of mum and dad anytime before your 40s, locumming is a good idea to have that

[@Bringon-dw8dx]

Most doctors just view locum shifts as essential to being able to access a middle class life. If your partner is about to have a new baby, you do locum shifts to buy all the stuff. If you are trying to get a house deposit together you regularly do locums so you have money to save. If your car breaks down and needs new parts, you do some locum shifts to pay for that. You are trying to have a wedding… you guessed it, locum. Plus now it’s harder and harder to climb the ladder people are being forced to do years of locum shifts as they apply to get jobs and get rejected

[@TheRocketbabydoll]

Two types of locums. Bank rates…usually for staff employed by the trust there for picking up extra shifts, then agency locum rates which initially seem higher but these are generally for doctors not employed by a trust. Locums have other expenses that doctors employed by a trust or in a training programme don’t have (higher indemnity insurance rates, often have to pay for yearly mandatory appraisals and revalidations and own training days), also locums are not guaranteed steady income and relative job insecurity compared to employed doctors.

[@varungupta2045]

Also, there's a bit of the texas sharp shooter fallacy with this argument. UK as a whole has been in a pay slump. Mostly everyone has gotten an effective pay cut not just the junior doctors. Not to mention tax slabs have been frozen so we're paying more real terms taxes. The fact of the matter is that we as a country have just gotten poorer and are continuing on that path so asking for wages to be restored to 2008 levels might be easier said than done.

[@thesaltbaron-du6mo]

Not true. The FT published an article on this, you should check it out.

[@susanna7004]

tiffanyferg made a good video about dental care in the US a while ago you should check that out! About how good dental care is something only affordable by the wealthy and how shiny, white smiles are a kind of status symbol. My experience of dental care in the UK has been ok (I got braces on the NHS) but it’s interesting how things like dental care, social care and opticians are viewed as separate to healthcare. They’re all important for good health!

[@LivvyAlexW]

It’s the same here in Canada. Health care is screwed. I live rural and north. We have doctors leaving by the day. I work in pharmacy and luckily the pharmacists can extend meds. But I find it so stressful. I barely get paid enough to survive. Just above min wage. It’s awful

[@sarahmihuc3993]

Yep, I feel like Canada is even farther down this road potentially. I live in the worst city in Canada for family doctor shortage (Gatineau), and the estimate is somewhere between 30-40% of people here can't get regular primary care for multiple years... While we have 1000s of premeds & residents who we don't have spots or money for that are leaving for the US, along with stagnating wages causing all types of med professionals to leave, and attempts at privatization... The system needs more money and anything the govt does is too little too late, this has been coming for 5-10 years due to ongoing policies, and COVID only made things worse.

[@helza]

I love your passion for the NHS

[@robwhythe793]

Evan, you're a better Brit than anyone in our current Conservative Party. I left Britain for Canada in 2011, intending to return. But then Brexit happened, then Johnson, then whoever she was, and now someone who should really be in the Labour ranks but who is forced to follow the racists around him... Britain is a mess, and Canada's a nice place to be. I'm just grateful for you taking my place in ranting about how good the NHS is as a concept, but how the Tories are hanging, drawing and quartering it. You know the American healthcare system. You know how bad this can get. Please look after the place while I'm away.

[@Peter-jk1lt]

Well done Evan. Good analysis

[@clabood]

Australian here we will happily have all the Junior Doctors for the NHS. We have such low numbers of healthcare providers it is crazy.

[@darrencornish4433]

I’m on my way

[@angrydoc4769]

I’m going to put this out there for those that begrudge doctor pay. Especially those that seem to think that after training the pay will be astronomical and set you up for life. A consultant salary is £42 up to £57 an hour. Those on £57 an hour have worked within the NHS for around 30+ years. If you called a plumber out on New Year’s Eve to fix a boiler and only paid £57 an hour without a callout fee you’d be delighted. Would you begrudge a surgeon on the same date giving you a heart transplant being paid the same amount of money? Consultant pay has eroded the most at 35% in the same time period. Doctors are not overpaid in the UK if you value their worth. If you don’t value their worth watch them leave the NHS. Market forces will allow the mobile ones to leave for greener pastures. Don’t believe it? Watch the consultant strike ballot in May.

[@taffyterrier]

GET BACK TO WORK WHINGER

[@julia2jules]

Once you have completed your foundation two years (previously called house officer) you apply for speciality training. (Previously called registrar) However there are not enough of these training places for each cohort of foundation doctors. So do a 3rd (or 4th) foundation year or a ‘trust doctor’ ie do the registrar level job, without access to official progression training! Hoping that you get onto specialty training next year… or move overseas or a new career. Then there is the poor conditions. Hardly any hospital accommodation onsite so 2 hour or more commute each way is common. You get relocated every 4 to 6 months within a huge geographic area. Access to food and drinks…privately owned franchises. Only open a few hours at conventional meal times. In the 80s nhs canteens served fresh cooked meals 24 hours a day so if you worked 3 or 4 hours unpaid over your shift at least you could get food. Vending machines often broken or empty out of hours.

[@johnlock1605]

true some specialties are very competitive and you can get stuck at different stages depending if it is run through or not. I used to hate on-calls particularly when I had to buy lunch because if you missed the one hour window you were fed left over and if you missed the 1.5 to 2 hour window in lunch time you went hungry. Oh the good old days. Thankfully I no longer work in hospital and soon will be leaving for AUS

[@leeshadavis]

12 hours wait.. just like the ER in America I work for and I am now seeing copays of $250 to $2000 for people with insurance :( and that is to just get in the door.. costs go up after you actually see the doctor :(

[@johnlock1605]

Let me share from my work as doctor working as on-call receiving referral from ER/A&E. I have had patients being angry with me because they had to wait overnight to be seen, despite the fact that I started my shift in the morning. Some speaking with me as if they were doing me a favour. I do not ask for people to respect me like the old days, just basic human courtesy and not blame me for what is outside my control. This is a minority of people but does happen. Some in UK have no idea how expensive private health would be if they forked it out at the point of use. Here a few have private insurance which is not that expensive because they use it for minor things or not at all if they are young. This is because NHS provides everything from emergency care to major surgery or cancer treatment.

[@leeshadavis]

@@johnlock1605 I wish they understood how lucky they are to have the NHS and people like you working there. I work for a hospital that makes record profits here and have no insurance so I cant even be seen here myself :( and I also know what its like to be yelled at for things beyond my control so I hear ya there. I just did my taxes here today.. and I owe the government more money lol... money I don't have. So today I went around the neighborhood collecting cans out of everyones garbage bins so I can sell them to the recycle place to get extra cash lol USA is so great lol super sarcasm implied lol

[@johnlock1605]

@@leeshadavis I am sorry to hear your economic hardship and lack of access to what you provide for others. I hope the can collection bit was part of that sarcasm. For all its imperfections NHS is way better than any private health system for the patients. The taxes people pay, which is reminded to us regular basis here in UK would get them zilch if they were in the US. Our government has a policy of defunding the health system to cause enough discontent that no one will defend it when it is completely privatised. Of course doctors, nurse or any other health worker won't benefit from this, just rich people who will come to own.

[@leeshadavis]

@@johnlock1605 I wish the can collection was sarcasm but unfortunately it is not.. I tell friends that live in other countries to not allow dental and health care to become private. it will only make things so much worse. :( Fight the politicians that are trying to make private happen because those people have been bought by the companies that will profit.

[@johnlock1605]

@@leeshadavis Sorry to hear that. Thank you for your positive message. I wish you better days to come.

[@nyxthefox2348]

As a young person that is soon applying to university to study medicine, I've already come to terms with the fact I'll probably never be paid a just amount. And the fact that some universities don't allow you to work other jobs to keep yourself afloat means that I'll probably be in debt, constantly asking my parents for money. I don't spend a penny from the money I earn by working at McDonald's, which I'd like to mention is £8.25/hour, which is six pounds less than a junior doctor, and I'm literally 17. In two months I'll be earning £10. At McDonald's. How does someone who has worked hard at university for 5-6 years and maybe even ten years only earning four pounds an hour more than a McDonald's employee. No shade to McDonald's employees, but that is just atrocious. I don't spend any of that money I earn because I actively worry about being able to pay rent and afford food. It's awful, and I'm still going to do it because I love studying medicine and I want to help people. Maybe I'll just move with my best friend to Germany. Might work out better there. Sending my prayers and love to any current junior doctors who are striking, but also those who are just struggling. I wish you all the luck in the world x.

[@Bringon-dw8dx]

I worked throughout medical school (sometimes as many as 4 zero hour contracts on the go at the same time), most people work whilst at university. But yeah that won’t be enough to cover rent and obviously you get debt from the fees

[@taffyterrier]

Anyone of average intelligence can study medicine at whatever passes for “university” in dumbed down Britain.

[@lynette.]

It was when they gave an independent body the task of deciding how much government worker is paid that it all went wrong it seems like they decided nurse's etc should be paid the same as shop workers in the private sector. Madness.

[@janebaker966]

These "independent" bodies. I'm suspicious. We dont have investigative journalist anymore but when we did they would discover that the "independent" panel all had links and close associations ,but at one remove from the people they were adjudicating for. Like one panel member is the auntie of that MPs wife and such like.

[@sardonicsolicitor1370]

Hey Evan, many thanks for making this video! Really good breakdown of a complex issue which has become polarising for all the wrong reasons. The arguments for giving junior doctors pay rises in line with inflation (on the RPI indexation) are clear. Love the cheeky pun at the end of the video! 😅 It's what I'm here for!

[@GrigoryTingus]

just an itty bitty correction at the start - even if you specialise you are still a junior doctor. only when you get CCT (Certificate of Completion of Training) do you stop being called "junior doctor" i.e. becoming a consultant (surgical or medical), GP, or SAS doctor

[@stanmarsh14]

Absolutely 100% bang on correct dude! Myself, I'm a trade union rep (Though I work for a V large American warehousing / transport firm) connected to certain parts of the NHS (Unite the Union), and even though we generally don't cover medical staff (Those are generally with Unison, RCN, and the BMA), we cover more support staff in the NHS, like Porters, Cleaners, Drivers, The Ambulance Service, Engineer's etc, and just like our Medical counterparts, we have seen a very large drop in the value of wages, so we stand side by side with our sister unions (I've stood on an RCN picket in March at the QMC, Nottingham.... Met two staff whom taken care of my mother in the same hospital where she died), for a fairer deal for all.

[@Xenzo]

Thank you so much for doing justice to this issue.

[@JennaGetsCreative]

Canada's got pretty much the same problem, and our doctors are leaving too. Scary times! And ugh, yes, denistry. Not part of universal health care (along with vision and hearing aids.) Those are luxury body parts. Pay up. I have to combine my insurance with my husband's insurance in order to see the dentist.

[@puccarts]

You forgot to mention that a lot of these small "pay increases" of 2% or whatnot are actually deemed as "discretionary" and don't actually even get paid out.

[@Bunnybananabunny]

Love love love the editing!!

[@fsetor1]

Well done. Great video.

[@jackwalker4874]

The government consider RPI to be too high but won't even offer CPI or CPIH.

[@94HopeRemains]

As a junior doctor in Scotland working in paediatrics, thank you. I love, love, love my job to bits, I think it is a privilege to look after the wellbeing and safety of children. I give it my 100%. But on the flip side, the responsibilities and challenges that come with it can be overwhelming. The rota gaps make it more so. The feeling of being constantly undervalued by a hypocritical government stings. Hard. Thanks for understanding the reasons behind the strikes (Scotland BMA is still balloting but it is likely we'll do the same as England). My partner and I don't want to leave. The North of Scotland is home (even though I'm from Italy). But we have one life and the thought of spending it at an inferior quality of life than we could have is painful to bear. Here's hoping the government will listen.

[@taniyan7322]

Love that you explained the maths

[@dudeitselina]

loving the lighting!

[@jenaylorhippieson]

Evan, I watched this video yesterday and loved how you explained the arithmetic of the % used by the NHS Junior doctors. Today I USED that arithmetic by back tracking the tax rate in my job as an accountant. I just wanted to thank you for explaining the inverse logic, my mind was blown.

[@taffyterrier]

Junior doctors tend not to be very good at arithmetic.

[@starflight4842]

i completely agree with everything that you've said, it also makes me wonder why food prices are skyrocketing as well as rent prices for first time buyers of flats etc, public travel and leisure centres when benefits and wages seem to barely move, its almost like the government's actively trying to increase poverty and homelessness. not to mention that its already extremely difficult to find work if you have terrible grades and disabilities with very little experience......

[@cumberlandsauce8621]

All proceeding to plan. "You will own nothing and be happy."

[@sianchild]

Well explained!

[@js66613]

You may have to wait an upwards of 12 hours to be seen... Which in any other developed country might have been seen as highly alarming... But in the UK this is really only mildly disconcerting, as the locals have become so accustomed to long waiting times that they've long since forgone any NHS check-up for a glass of beer at the pub next door, under the rationale that "alcohol is a disinfectant and a relaxant". At best they'll slap a post-it note with "brb" illegibly scribbed on onto the seat they were occupying for the last ten hours, to save their spot. /j

[@mcmilge]

Brilliant video ❤

[@AJFilms14]

Dude same, I went on a trip to see my family and got food poisoning and then three days after feeling better I got a cold. Life is pain lol.

[@Bpblayney]

I wish people would account for that the real-terms wages of everyone in the UK (not just doctors) has also fallen by a similar amount since 2008. Its a travesty but also doctors are some of the most well off in society (consultant pay is extremely good), and disproportionately come from rich families in the first place. I want to see what the maths comes to if instead of just RPI or CPI you account for national wage stagnation.

[@johnlock1605]

Very true, this has affected everyone. I suggest you organise people in your work place to strike and I as a doctor will stand in solidarity. If we could all strike and have a general strike then you can show the government and the rich 1% who makes things run.

[@amykochel5918]

Evan I need you to know that there's a doctor at the same office as my GP whose real last name is Superdoc

[@moosic2i]

I just wanted to comment on the slight change in the content & style of Evan's channel. The content has been so impressive and professional over the last few months. I really enjoy the more journalistic approach to many of Evan's recent videos. The production values on this channel have always been very high, but the topics and sheer journilism of late, has been very satisfying to witness.

[@addicted2caffeine]

Super doctors AI max . 😅 I love this! Let's make this happen 😜

[@archvaldor]

Appreciate you going to bat for the NHS on this one Evan.

[@NaomiMc-ul7px]

straight to the point and very informative! great vid

[@alexatkin]

Trouble is neither index are any good. It doesn't take into account the fact that day to day living costs have more than doubled in the last couple of years, as they use things you buy less often, that are a tiny minority of your cost of living, to bring the average down.

[@Zomerset]

Brilliant video on such an important topic. Thank you very much. It’s a massive shame that it had to be made in the first place.

[@taffyterrier]

It didn’t.

[@angelaauger169]

Fantastic video & extremely well said. The Tories are determined to privatise the NHS & this is the way they've found to do it - insidiously & under the table.👏👍

[@onlyo9025]

feel like this is a coman thread with all state paid or state controled pay in the UK at the moment a similar thing was occuring with the RMT strikes (even though how it was the goverements fault is a little more complicated due to the fact of how our rail system is managed is super dumb)

[@geoffdrewer1978]

Explains why I see so many nice UK doctors in our Australian 🇦🇺hospitals. Better pay and a good weather bonus 😎

[@geoffdrewer1978]

@SoapCanMan yes there was that silly war against emus. 🤣 The bushmasters we're sending to Ukraine 🇺🇦 are kicking butt though.

[@rachelleallen-sherwood8527]

Bravo Fearless Evan! Thank you for your detailed explanation, backed with facts and data from reputable sources. I've been watching the UK health system crumbling for some years now (all under Conservative govt ) and I honestly fear for my future as I'm not rich at all.

[@laceym314]

I absolutely love watching you get fired up and then throwing a pun in at the last second. The world's gone to shite at the hands of capitalistic greed, but I'm glad you continue to share the honest truth.

[@nyxnecrodragon4256]

Bruh I don't care how this issue gets sorted but it needs to get sorted. I have a 13cm fibroid in my uterus and I've finally got an appointment to discuss my options to get rid of it........just over a year after I was referred.

[@Bringon-dw8dx]

Write to your MP supporting pay restoration. Kick up a fuss. Support the junior doctors. Show the government they can’t treat normal people like shit

[@CatMurray]

Where is the money going to come from? I worked as a nurse for an HCA hospital in London (private American facility that catered to the wealthy). My specialty is rare and my salary reflected that-I don’t know how anyone lives on what the NHS pays. Healthcare fraud and lack of funding has the NHS in a downward spiral, and it is hemorrhaging because medical people are completely changing vocations. I have completely qualified physicians working for me doing research and making 10 times their NHS salary.

[@91msJill]

Your quiz was a trick question. I'll click on either title.

[@suzannax]

If the NHS staff got reasonable pay, they'll stay and then the government won't be able to justify privatising the whole system.

[@nizzlexD93]

Great video

[@ianarnett]

A thing I didn’t understand was the reduction in the value of the hypothetical £100. Yes I understand the reduction to £75 by inflation, but during this time there have been pay increases, so does the £75 account for these rises or not?

[@evan]

Yes! Sorry I should have mentioned that their 26.1% stat was with their pay rises considered

[@Baachoo143]

As an American our expensive health care ( yes it is inflated) is a different viewpoint of the same issue.

[@Inucroft]

While myself and mother are on NHS dentist contract... our dentist has stopped taking NHS patients onto the books since 2019. And with issues, my father has been suck on a private contract with another dentist organisation.

[@krymsonuchiha14]

As I've applied for an administrative job with the NHS, I wonder if that's why I haven't heard anything back in like a month. My account still says it's being considered and I will get a reply saying they didn't shortlist me if they do. So maybe that's why. I'm a creative writing and publishing student, but I also have an interest in Healthcare. I find it fascinating for some reason.

[@marceatslorries5600]

I’ve been enjoying your videos for the last few years. After this… I fucking love you, Edz 😘

[@Itslvle]

Wow, even by Finnish standards (other Nordic countries have 20% higher doctor's pay) the junior doctors in the UK get around 40% less that our worst possible doctor's wage (which is arguably shit compared to, well, everything becoming and being a doctor entails). Considering all the other crap their doctors have to deal with in the UK, I would just leave. Go to Australia where the language is the same and your pay increases several fold.

[@petehall1985]

Well said ALL PUBLIC SECTOR WORKERS SALARIES SHOULD BE PEGGED TO INFLATION. I work in local government and have never received a pay agreement in line with inflation. Problem is that if social workers and housing officers strike it doesn't effect enough people so we need the nhs to win because if they can't nobody can

[@taffyterrier]

PUBLIC SECTOR “WORKERS” ARE OVERPAID

[@Mafus007]

I have been thinking that the UK government are to trying to be like the USA government and I think it’s a bad idea it’s basically all about the money. 😢

[@Inucroft]

The UK Gov is more right wing than Biden... and Biden is pretty right wing.

[@mollyapteros]

This is an England thing. NHS Scotland, in my experience, is better.

[@sammymarrco2]

how were the taxes back in 2008 that were able to fund it back then, but the UK gov cant now ?

[@dominictemple]

Well said Evan, always glad to see these videos.

[@berniethekiwidragon4382]

9:45 My response to Tories who whip out their members to urinate in our cereal: ✂️

[@samanthahardy9903]

Back in the 1980's the wait time was between 8 to 12 hours in the A &E (ER) departments in the U.K. So not much has changed. Back then there were also a staff shortages and that's why a lot of staff were hired from other countries. Pay was bad back then too and the government was run by a Conservative government. Now we are run by a Conservative government again and it's the same again. Any time Conservatives are in power wait times are up, wages are down and inflation is sky high.

[@taffyterrier]

…. because unlike profligate Labour governments Conservatives understand fiscal responsibility.

[@kawaiidere1023]

Same vibe as the US rail strike followed by a bunch of crashes after the companies didn’t work with the unions

[@DonMuffatello]

While it doesnt fall within the realm of healthcare, I would love a video on engineering and their salaries, as well as the destruction of the innovation sector in the UK

[@ariejohansen5485]

Evan this is such a good video, as an actuary I'm so glad you've gone into this much depth on inflation 📈

[@lailaunknown3989]

This is a great video

[@piddlydiddly]

Looking forward to the dentistry vid! I was prioritised denistry when pregnant, but it immediately ceased when I gave birth. Nobody takes on NHS patients in my area code and outside of my area code they just say they can't take us on. The pandemic seemed to make this worse as trying to call everywhere I'd be told to try again in 2 years as that's how long their waiting list is......Little one is almost a decade old now, neither of us have had dental checks in that time.

[@MrsUzumaki]

I'm not saying but I am saying Guy Fawkes had a point.

[@capablancauk]

The RPI is the price index that includes things that poorer people use in their average expenditure. CPI includes things normal Joe's don't purchase.