by Dr Deborah Lee, Dr Fox Online Pharmacy
https://pixabay.com/photos/flower-carnation-red-flower-nature-7840259/
Image by Ray Shrewsberry • from Pixabay
Around the world, the hard work and dedication of doctors is celebrated every year on the 30th of March. It’s a good opportunity to say thank you to your doctor. And right now, they need to be appreciated more than ever.
The history
The first Doctor’s Day was celebrated on March the 30th, 1933, by the Barrow County Alliance in Georgia, and was initiated by Mrs Eudora Brown Almond, the wife of Dr Charles B Almond. The date was chosen as it was that day in 1842 when the first anaesthetic was successfully administered by Crawford W. Long, M.D when performing surgery to remove a tumour from a man’s neck. The town sent cards to local doctors and placed flowers – red carnations – on the graves of doctors who had died. The red carnation remains a symbol for National Doctors Day.
Why should we honour National Doctors Day?
Times are very hard for UK doctors. They were over worked and exhausted during the COVID pandemic, and there has been no let up since with a huge back log of appointments, and long waiting times for patients.
The junior doctors strike
Now the junior doctors are on strike having to protest about their pay and terms and conditions. The fact the government froze their pay for 10 years due to austerity, means they have actually seen a 30% pay cut, which no other profession would find acceptable. I support them every step of the way.
The misery of life as junior doctor
Many people don’t understand what life is like for a junior doctor. They have a gruelling 5 years to get their medical degree and often end up often with £100,000 debt. Once they qualify and start working on the wards, which entail long shifts and being on call, working night and weekends.
Junior doctors are poorly paid
Junior doctors earn £14.09 per hour, which is less than the hourly rate for some of those working in Pret a Manger.
People often say, yes, but the earn so much when they become a Consultant, and have private practice. But it takes 10 years to achieve this – with all the stresses that involves (see below) and many never make it to Consultant – they may work part time, have children, or accept long-term, less senior roles because they just can’t achieve the final rungs of the training. Also, some medical specialties have no or very little private practice, this is only lucrative in big cities and varies all over the country. Plus, the cost of the insurance for a doctor to do private practice is now sky high and many Consultants decide it’s just not worth it.
People also say the junior doctors knew what they would earn when they chose to do medicine. Not true. I, for one, many years ago, did medicine as I was interested in caring for people and the human body. I never thought for a minute how much I would earn and never did it for the money, but I always assumed I would earn a reasonable wage. The current wage is not reasonable.
Junior doctors have high on-going training costs
To progress in medicine, junior doctors need to take more exams, which means studying in their precious free time. These exams are expensive, often costing £1000 a time, and they may need to take them more than once. In the old days, the study leave budget would pay for them to attend courses the need for continuing accreditation and to be able to take these further exams, but now, the funds may well not cover the costs of this and they have no choice but to pay for these themselves.
Being a junior doctor impacts on their relationships, home life and parenthood
Many young doctors are married or have long term partners, but they can be sent to work anywhere in their region for 3 to 6 months. They may have the opposite rotas pattern to their other half, which means they hardly see each other and its difficult to maintain good relationships. If they have small children, the added pressure of childcare and moving house is highly problematic, especially when they are not earning a lot more than the minimum wage.
We are haemorrhaging junior doctors
Many junior doctors are attracted by moving to Australia or New Zealand where pay and conditions is so much better than in the UK. 4,843 doctors moved to Australia in 2021/2022 according to GMC records. A 2022 BMA survey revealed that 3 in 10 doctors plan to move abroad within the next 12 months. 4 in 10 plan to leave medicine and find another profession.
What will we do when we lose a quarter to a third of our UK doctors?
The work of NHS doctors
On an average day in the NHS
- Over 1.2 million people attend a GP appointment
- Around 260,000 people attend an outpatient appointment
- Over 37,000 people call 999
- Over 44,000 attend A&E and 25% are admitted to hospital
- Around 675 patients are admitted to critical care
What would we do without our doctors? We owe them so much.
What can we do to say thank you to our doctors?
I think we should honour our doctors on National Doctors Day – although we should be appreciative of our doctors every day. Make sure you say thank you to your doctor. You could choose to send a card or an email. Perhaps give them a red carnation.
I, for one, signed the petition to support their pay request, but this has now closed. If any further petitions materialise, please show your support. The BMA estimated the junior doctors strike has cost the NHS £1 Billion so far – which is the same amount it would have cost to agree to their pay demand. What a waste of resources. Our doctors deserve to be paid appropriately.
This year on National Doctors Day, please do what you can to support your doctor and the junior doctors. Our health is in their hands.
- What could you do to say thank you to your doctor?
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