Hundreds of striking junior doctors have protested on the steps of the Welsh parliament in Cardiff and accused Labour of driving medics out of the NHS in Wales by not paying them properly and undermining the beloved institution that is arguably the party’s greatest achievement.
An estimated 600 doctors, who are taking part in a three-day strike, expressed anger at the Labour-led government’s refusal to increase its pay offer, with many threatening to leave the country if their demands are not met.
The Welsh government said the strike, the first full stoppage ever by junior doctors in Wales, had so far led to 30% of planned procedures or operations being postponed and almost half of outpatient appointments rescheduled. Thirteen out of the 19 Welsh hospitals were at “level red”, their busiest level.
Welsh ministers have said the 5% pay rise they have offered is in line with other workers in the Welsh NHS and was already “at the limits” of what it could afford. They blame the UK government for not providing enough funding for public services.
But the doctors’ trade union, BMA Cymru Wales argues that pay has been “eroded” by almost a third since 2008-9 and is worse than that in England and Scotland.
On the steps of the Senedd, junior doctors described their anguish at having to strike but said they were determined to get “fair” pay rises. Some held up placards pointing out that a doctor starting their career in Wales will earn as little as £13.65 an hour. Others suggested they were planning to leave for Australia. One placard said the Welsh government’s controversial 20mph speed limit saved 10 lives year, while junior doctors saved thousands.
One of the doctors, Hywel Rhys Williams, 30, a junior registrar in Llanelli, south Wales, said: “I love my job but doctors pay in Wales isn’t good enough.” He began working as a cleaner at the hospital before getting into medical school and working as a junior doctor in Wales. He spent three years in Australia before returning.
“I’m proud to be from Llanelli. I want to stay in Llanelli but I have to constantly battle with the thought that I know I can be paid better in England, and for sure in Australia. I only managed to buy a house here because I went to Australia. That’s a sorry state of affairs.”
Williams said it felt uncomfortable protesting against a Labour administration. “The NHS is a gem and classically Labour is seen as the party of the NHS.”
Hannah Wise, 27, works in the south Wales health board named after the architect of the NHS Aneurin Bevan.
She said: “Doctors today are not worth a third less than the doctors of 2008.” Wise claimed cuts were compromising patient care. “The conditions are so bad. On a normal day, I will go and see patients who have waited 10 hours plus in A&E. They will wait another 10 hours for a bed. Multiple operations are cancelled every day, not just on strike days, because of the bed situation and rota gaps. The majority of my friends from uni have gone to Australia already. They seem so much happier, more valued and better paid.”
Thomas Grother, 30, a GP registrar at the Royal Glamorgan hospital in his home town of Llantrisant, south Wales, said plenty of his medical friends had left for Australia and New Zealand. “I’m bitterly sad to be on strike. I was meant to be on a twilight shift – 2-10pm – today, seeing patients coming up from A&E. I want to be at work but the government has left us no option. The 5% offer felt like a kick in the teeth.”
Speaking at a press conference, the Welsh health minister, Eluned Morgan, said a higher pay offer was impossible without additional funding from the UK government.
She said: “We fully understand the strength of feeling behind the strike action. But our funding settlement, which comes largely from the UK government in the form of a block grant, is simply not sufficient to recognise the demands junior doctors are making. The UK government has failed to properly fund public services.”
