Junior doctors strike 2023 at Royal Bournemouth Hospital in July

Around a dozen junior doctors took to the picket line outside Royal Bournemouth Hospital on Thursday, July 13, holding placards stating: “Fair pay for us to stay.”

Members of the British Medical Association (BMA) are calling for better pay to make up for '15 years of below-inflation wage rises'.

Anaesthetic trainee Harris Wain has worked in the NHS for ten years but said he is moving to Australia next year due to 'years of struggles'.

“Covid had a big impact on my decision to leave.

“After all of our hard work during that time and the government doesn’t think we’re deserving of a pay restoration, it’s a slap in the face.”

The 34-year-old said a lot of doctors are on the verge of burnout and that medical staff in Australia are more valued.

The strikes that started on Thursday are expected to run until Tuesday July 18, and will be the ‘longest walkout of their kind in the history of the NHS'.

Junior doctor, Sam McKeawn, 24, said he is now considering suspending his pension payments to save money.

“We are so short-staffed that on a good day there are two to three members of staff for 30 patients.

“When we left the emergency room last night, there was still a ten-hour wait for patients.

“It makes the patients upset and it upsets us too.”

READ MORE: Public sector pay rise: New salaries for frontline workers

Fellow junior doctor, Ella Bailey, 25, said that the only reason she has stayed in the job is for the patients.

“These conditions are not why I signed up to be a doctor,” said Ella.

Anaesthetic trainee, Nick Stafford, 34, said: “In the day to day we would ideally be giving the best care possible but we’re having to compromise care quality just to keep people safe.

“I’m exhausted, I’m very tired.”

Junior clinical fellow, Moneeb Ahmed, 34, works in the emergency department at the hospital and said the workload is overwhelming.

“Sometimes we have three doctors and one senior, and we can have 50 patients waiting.

“At that point, safety goes out of the door.”

“The problem with being next to the front door is that you can’t close the front door, so we have to deal with everything that we’re given.”

Cardiology registrar, Robbie Bremner, 31, has worked in the NHS for seven years and said witnessing the worsening conditions is ‘demoralising'.

“The reason doctors go to work is because it is a rewarding job, but that comes with sacrifices.

“We stay late and miss important occasions to keep it running. Five to six years ago those sacrifices didn’t outweigh the reward, but not anymore.”

Anaesthetic trainee, Tom Rawling, 32, voiced his frustration at the government saying that the NHS cannot retain their staff.

“They’re spending time recruiting new people when they have no way to keep them", he said. “They’ll train more people just to lose them.”

The Daily Echo has contacted University Hospitals Dorset for comment and is awaiting a response. 

Dr Matt Thomas, deputy chief medical officer at Royal Bournemouth Hospital, said: “Our focus during this period of industrial action remains on providing emergency care and on our inpatients.

"This means that for patient safety we have very reluctantly had to postpone some outpatient appointments and procedures, which we hope to rebook as soon as possible.

"If you need healthcare during this time, please do use 111 online or by phone to ensure you go to the most suitable place for your care and so that we can provide emergency care to the most in need.

"For our patients, we hope that the British Medical Association and the Government find a resolution to this pay dispute as soon as possible.”