Strikes
What are the benefits and issues of resident doctor strikes?
BACKGROUND:
‘Resident doctor’, formerly known as junior doctor, is a term that encompasses doctors in training who are not yet qualified consultants. Historically this role has required high stress and long working hours; while pay has not been cut, any increases do not accurately reflect the effect of inflation leading to an effective fall compared to the early 2010s. Alongside advocating for pay restoration, strikes further encompass the need for more staffing and overall better working conditions.
Strikes have taken place in 2023, 2024 and 2025, with the latest occurring between July 25 and July 30th 2025.
ANSWER STRUCTURE
| Benefits | Issues |
|---|---|
| Doctors are entitled to fair pay and good working conditions. | Doctors should follow the principle of non-maleficence. Staffing shortages can put patients at risk by leading to cancelled appointments and procedures. |
| Arguably, a doctor’s job has become harder over time. For example, due to the pandemic, and the role of the doctor in debating medical misinformation online. Earnings do not reflect this. | Strikes can undermine the public’s trust in the NHS, as the public is concerned when they see doctors striking. |
| Inadequate pay may lead to burnout and mental health struggles, which puts patients at risk. | Strike action further costs the NHS, which is counterintuitive as that money could have been used for pay. |
KEY TERMS
These terms from the points above might spark possible follow-up questions:
- CHANGES IN ROLE
- The point above mentions that the role of the doctor has changed over time. Most people have the view that medicine is a ‘secure’ profession; not only is it supposedly well paid, but doctors will always have a job. However, recent figures show that an increasing number of foundation doctors do not achieve training posts and are forced to do another foundation year or seek another profession.
- Why might the public’s view be misaligned with what doctors face? How can we correct this?
- PUBLIC’S TRUST
- The final, accepted pay offer was leaked before it went to vote. Headlines marked this as a roughly 29% increase, but when put into perspective it was only 1% higher than previous offers from the Conservative government.
- How did the public respond to this? How might this have affected resident doctor response?