Despite the relentless campaign against the resident doctors, on the picket line, the public is showing their support, reports Louis Bailey 

Out in the warm Friday morning, the resident doctors BMA members were on strike surrounded by supporting members of the public. They were out at Guys and St Thomas hospital, clearly stating they would rather be inside the hospital helping patients, than having to fight for pay restoration, not a pay rise. 

Keep Our NHS Public states: ‘Analysis by the Institute for Government of NHS staff earnings by group show that RD have experienced the largest erosion in spending power over recent years, with Consultants a close second.’ 

A vibrant, loud and proud picket line that was not shying away from loaded questions from the media. Such as: ‘What would you say to the pensioners that are missing their appointments because of your strike?’

Luckily, I found a pensioner and asked her what she thought:

Without these people (pointing to the doctors) we would be dead …. It is only £4, if Wes [Streeting] stopped getting flights they could cover the costs of the deserved pay restoration… The whole of the NHS should go out on strike and get this government to pay them what they deserve. It is disgusting what this government is doing to these people [referring to the doctors].’ 

The rhetoric behind the media question represents the government attack line. The government is attacking the resident doctors strike action from a place of weakness due to how poorly the welfare bill went down.  

Resident doctors are fighting to be paid properly: currently they work a fifth of their hours for free. They are demanding a staged 29% pay rise to bring their pay in line with inflation. The original 22% pay rise over two years agreed between the BMA and Streeting in 2024 has been eroded due to the impact of inflation. 

One doctor said that all his fellow medical students have gone to Australia to get better pay and working conditions. Seventy-five per cent of doctors in Australia are British. Another first-year student said that everyone in their cohort is talking about concerns for future pay. Here is a interview with a striking Doctor:

There is clearly the money for the resident doctors, but this government is spending it on increasing defence to keep the disastrous war in Ukraine going, pander to Donald Trump and continue the genocide in Palestine. Welfare not Warfare! 

Support from passers-by and from car horns, taxis, and buses, brought strength to the BMA members and dispelled the myth that the public are not behind them. We are and we want everyone to know that all NHS workers deserve better. We are willing to support all workers to fight for better conditions, and pay restoration. This will also clearly improve both the patient experience and the general running of the NHS. 

This is a fight for pay restoration, but it is more than that, it is fighting for better conditions at work, staff retention, a fully funded and thriving NHS. All things that should be an easy decision for a Labour government. Wes Streeting talks the language of bringing the NHS back from the brink of crumbling, but his idea is to use the private sector to do so. He talks the language of big business not the workers.  

Doctors did not want to be on strike, they want to be inside and giving the best healthcare they can and do perform. But they cannot do nothing, as the waiting list is the largest it has ever been. What are the doctors to do? Keep working in a failing NHS, keep working a fifth of their time for free, keep struggling in poor working conditions. The BMA today said no, they will strike, fight and win, not for themselves but for the whole of the NHS.