Rising discontent among junior doctors is fuelling concerns they will strike.
A survey shows two-thirds have researched leaving the NHS in the past year. The BMA, which is to ballot junior doctors, said its findings should be a “real wake-up call” for the Tories.
Medics will vote in the second week of the New Year on whether to follow nurses and paramedics into industrial action.
Despite being clapped through the pandemic and soaring inflation, overstretched junior doctors were given a meagre 2% pay increase in 2022.
Showing the scale of discontent in the health service, the survey of almost 4,000 junior doctors in England over the last two months by the BMA found that 79% "often think about leaving the NHS".
It showed a massive majority - 65% - of respondents said they had "actively researched leaving the NHS'' in 2022.
Doctors are currently under immense pressure facing a record backlog of over 7million patients waiting for care and last week several hospitals declared critical incidents amid unprecedented demand.
One report revealed junior doctors had worked shifts of up to 21 hours with a damning dossier listing 15 unsafe incidents during one week pre-Covid, including a newly qualified medic left in charge of 44 patients.
The Mirror also reported last week on a separate survey showing some junior doctors are cutting back on buying food and heating their homes as they struggle with the rising cost of living.
Almost three quarters of junior doctors have had to take on extra shifts on top of their standard contracts over the past year, while half have needed to borrow money from family or friends, the BMA found.
One junior doctor Becky Bates said at the time: "I love my job and am proud to be a doctor but the state of my financies is a constant stressor".
She added: “I’ve started using my annual leave to work additional shifts in the NHS. I know I’m not alone in this. This simply isn’t sustainable especially when on busier rotas - we deserve rest too.”
Labour's Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting told The Mirror on Tuesday: "The Tories have left the NHS woefully understaffed and patients poorly served as a result.
"We can't afford to lose the doctors we have and it is particularly worrying that so many junior doctors are thinking of leaving the profession when they should be looking forward to a long career ahead."
The NHS has already been hit by a wave of strikes, with the Royal College of Nursing staging the biggest walkout in its 106-year history this month.
Ambulance workers also staged strike action for the first time in decades with further industrial action planned for the second week of January.
Despite repeated calls from union leaders Rishi Sunak and the Tory Health Secretary Steve Barclay have rejected pleas to negotiate over pay.
Co-chair of the BMA junior doctors committee Dr Robert Laurenson added that some junior doctors are "worrying about how they can afford to pay their bills, commute to work and keep a roof over their heads".
He said: "When eight in ten junior doctors say they often think about leaving the NHS, this should be a real wake up call for the Government to come to the table and address our concerns.
"Instead, we have a Government that has failed to meet with junior doctor leaders and seemingly would rather choose strikes this winter than resolve the NHS staffing crisis that has left more than 7million patients on waiting lists for care".
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “The Health and Social Care Secretary has been clear that supporting and retaining the NHS workforce is one of his key priorities, and that includes hardworking junior doctors, whose wellbeing is of paramount importance.
“Junior doctors have received an 8.2% pay rise between 2019 and 2023 through the multi-year pay deal agreed with the BMA.
"We have also invested an additional £90 million to provide the most experienced junior doctors with higher pay, increased allowances for those working the most frequently at weekends, and increased rates of pay for night shifts."
