As resident doctors prepare for another walkout, readers responded with a flurry of passionate – and polarised – opinions on the latest NHS pay dispute.
Some voiced sympathy for doctors, arguing that pay should have kept pace with inflation since 2008. They warned that failing to restore salaries would fuel burnout, debt, and emigration, further weakening an NHS already short on staff and resources.
Others pointed to the gruelling hours and training required, noting that doctors deserve better pay and respect. Several also criticised Health Secretary Wes Streeting for “reneging” on promises.
But not all were supportive. Some readers described the 29 per cent pay demand as excessive and out of touch, especially after the 22 per cent uplift secured last year.
Many were frustrated by long waits for appointments and poor patient outcomes, questioning whether increased pay alone would improve services.
Here’s what you had to say:
I have little sympathy for NHS staff
To be honest, over the last 15 years or so, I’ve noticed a significant shift in the attitude of GPs and doctors towards their patients. Often, my GP seems indifferent to my healthcare needs, and I find myself being passed from pillar to post when I need my injection for a specific condition. My GP blames the hospital, while the hospital points the finger back at the GP surgery for not administering it.
I've also observed a marked change in the attitude of those who handle phone calls. When I need to see my GP, I’m frequently told to book a telephone appointment or given a mere 5 to 10 minutes to discuss my concerns. Often, my issues aren’t truly addressed; it feels more like I’m having a chat with my next-door neighbour rather than receiving proper medical attention.
What frustrates me further is that the hospital and GP surgery I attend are often much less busy than they were 15 years ago. Yet, they still offer appointments at least four weeks later. It’s ridiculous! If the government has been playing games over the past 15 years, I believe NHS staff, including those in surgeries, have had a part in it. Therefore, I have little sympathy for NHS staff demanding pay rises that exceed the average UK rates.
At present, the NHS seems to think it’s doing a great job, but that’s often not the case. Doctors from countries like Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Mexico, China, Thailand, and Vietnam are often well-trained and willing to work for less, without compromising healthcare services for patients. Meanwhile, our newly trained doctors often have aspirations to move to countries like Australia, the USA, and Canada, which sometimes gives the impression that they feel stuck in their jobs here in the UK.
KatherineTateIsBack
Do you support the walkout? Let us know your views in the comments.
Everyone needs to join with the doctors
Everyone else needs to join with the doctors, stand alongside them and fight against the scourge of low wages that the people of the United Kingdom are expected to accept as recompense for the work they undertake.
The doctors are leading the way – people need to get on board or get out of the way.
Indythinkster
Pay and inflation
Everyone deserves for their pay to have kept up with inflation since 2008. Everyone includes doctors and other NHS staff.
Doctor
Outcomes not up to standard
It wouldn't be quite as bad if the NHS had a patient outcome half as good as most of our comparable European neighbours.
Admittedly the NHS is underfunded compared with many Western European countries, but wasn’t Boris supposed to fix everything with his red bus?
YetAnotherName
Now they want more?
In 2024, junior doctors received an average pay increase of 22 per cent over two years, which translated to an annual increase of between £9,000 and £16,000. Now they want 29 per cent on top of this. Who do they think they are? The nation has finite resources and cannot divert money meant to provide better facilities and medicines for patients into their pockets.
Pomerol95
The public will not forgive Streeting
No, Streeting, the public will not forgive you.
Doctors were promised pay restoration. You have reneged on that.
The English NHS has fewer doctors, nurses and beds per capita than the health services of comparable nations, including Scotland – a crucial factor in determining health outcomes and waiting lists.
Not paying doctors adequately is not going to improve that situation. And if they aren’t paid adequately, they will never pay off the vast student debts they have accrued – or they may even leave the country, leaving the public purse to pick up the entire tab as well as losing their not insubstantial investment entirely.
Northwing
Does it make any sense to be a GP anymore?
Does it make any sense to be a GP anymore, looking at their salary range? Clever people get paid more elsewhere, for less training (costly) and less work. I missed any plan for this issue in Streeting's 10-year NHS plan.
Mp
What a mess
What a mess, caused in part by the unfortunate fact that the more you pay anyone, the more valuable they think they are. It doesn't help that the NHS requires doctors to do a five-year degree course and then a couple of years practising, only to be able to prescribe medicine if it's on the NICE list and they have a blood test to justify it. No wonder doctors have decided to pursue money instead of a rewarding career.
Why hasn’t this inept government rolled out computer technology for diagnosis?
And freed up doctors to do more interesting and demanding work?
What a mess, and not the slightest sign of improvement.
MrBishi
My respect is wearing thin
Not again. So, junior doctors who are learning and need supervision demand a 29 per cent pay rise. By what rationale did they decide to train as doctors? Students will have researched their potential earnings, but as soon as they qualify, they feel justified in demanding higher than other professional groups.
Since Covid, getting to see a trained professional, a GP or specialist, has meant increasingly long waits, investigations delayed, diagnosis and treatments… how long is a piece of string?
Many doctors these days only work part-time. If you want more pay, work longer hours. Like the rest of us. My respect for these hard-working professional carers and healers has worn very thin. They demand we respect them – where is the respect for those in need?
Chuckiethebrave
A huge shift in doctors’ attitudes
There has been a huge shift in attitude among many doctors and reception staff (trained by the GPs to be barriers to care). Out-of-hours care is lousy. A lot of the doctors just don't care. And remember, the doctors get their medical qualification for peanuts – to become a doctor in the US requires a four-year bachelor’s degree followed by four years of medical training – that’s many hundreds of thousands of dollars of training that must be paid back. Perhaps junior doctors would feel better about their pay if they took a minute to understand the cost of their training to the British taxpayer.
Anyone
After the pandemic, they deserved a reward — but…
After the nightmare of the pandemic, NHS health workers deserved a reward for their dedication under awful circumstances. But doctors need to understand that they were given an unprecedented rise under Blair’s government, that they had a generous uplift last year, and that most other workers have not seen a real rise in their salaries for many years. As someone who has been waiting more than three years to get a diagnosis for mobility problems, I will certainly not be supporting the doctors.
Slamps
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