Doctors in Wales consider striking for first time

BMA Cymru’s Dr Iona Collins said the Welsh Government needed to ‘wake up to the crisis in the medical workforce and take serious action’.
Doctors in Wales are considering industrial action (PA)
PA Archive
Bronwen Weatherby22 December 2022

Doctors in Wales are considering going on strike for the first time, the British Medical Association Cymru has said.

Almost two-thirds of hospital doctors surveyed by the union this month said they would be willing to take some form of industrial action, including strikes, over their current pay and conditions.

The announcement comes after a week of walkouts by nurses and ambulance staff across the country calling for better wages and conditions.

The BMA’s Welsh Council chairwoman, Iona Collins, called the result of the survey “upsetting to all” and said it is “gut-wrenching for doctors to consider walking away from work”.

Doctors have been quietly quitting the NHS for years, by reducing their contracted hours or leaving altogether. The financial incentive to remain in the NHS has eroded over the last decade

Dr Iona Collins, BMA Cymru

She added: “Without action now, patients will continue to suffer as a direct consequence of an under-funded NHS with insufficient direct clinical care.”

The BMA announced in October that a ballot for industrial action by junior doctors in England, who received a 2% pay increase this year, will open on January 9.

The union said that over the past 15 years junior doctors’ take-home pay has been cut in real terms by more than a quarter.

Just under 1,000 doctors in Wales responded to the questionnaire seeking views on the latest pay award from the Welsh Government of 4.5%, with 78% of those who answered saying they want a pay rise that matched or exceeded inflation.

A previous survey undertaken by the BMA in August found that 52% of members who responded were more likely to leave the Welsh NHS as a result of the below inflation pay rise.

Dr Collins said the result of the most recent survey “is upsetting to all, including the doctors who took part”.

She added: “Doctors are healthcare professionals who invest most of their lives to care for others. They care passionately about their jobs and take their vocations seriously.

“It’s gut-wrenching for doctors to consider walking away from work when doctors know that they are so desperately needed in the workplace.

“Doctors have been quietly quitting the NHS for years, by reducing their contracted hours or leaving altogether. The financial incentive to remain in the NHS has eroded over the last decade.

We hope the Welsh Government will now finally wake up to the crisis in the medical workforce and take serious action, starting with better pay awards as part of an urgently required plan to address years of pay erosion

Dr Iona Collins, BMA Cymru

“Furthermore, a change in NHS pension taxation has seen senior doctors who have worked overtime in good faith punished for propping up the NHS by paying more than the overtime pay back as pension tax.

“No other healthcare system devalues their doctors like this, so there is little wonder that so many doctors leave the NHS to work elsewhere.

“Patient waiting lists are at record high levels and the NHS workforce predicament is affecting healthcare colleagues across the board.

“Without action now, patients will continue to suffer as a direct consequence of an under-funded NHS with insufficient direct clinical care.

“On that basis we hope the Welsh Government will now finally wake up to the crisis in the medical workforce and take serious action, starting with better pay awards as part of an urgently required plan to address years of pay erosion.”

Dr Collins said she had called for an urgent meeting with Wales’ health minister Eluned Morgan to discuss the survey and “need for immediate action”.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in