"The pay has gone down, the jobs have become harder, and doctors are leaving."
That's the stark message from one North East-based junior doctor, and comes amid what's been called the NHS's busiest ever winter and following a shocking new poll showing that a massive 40% of junior doctors plan to leave the NHS as soon as they can find an alternative.
Dr Martin Whyte, a paediatric registrar working in Sunderland, told ChronicleLive how young colleagues were feeling the pinch of the cost-of-living increases - and fed up of having their pay dwindle compared to inflation since 2008. Dr Whyte is also deputy chair of the British Medical Association's (BMA) northern regional junior doctors committee.
