Scots junior doctors say they could make more money as coffee shop baristas

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Junior doctors in Scotland are getting paid the same as sandwich shop baristas with many taking on second jobs to get by, their union has warned.Even though they take life or death decisions every day some junior doctors are paid just over £27,500 a year - which works out at £14 an hour - the same as some staff at sandwich shop Pret a Manger.A new survey by doctors union the BMA shows more than 55 per cent of junior doctors have taken on extra shifts to help pay their bills.And a fifth of those surveyed said they have experienced difficulties paying their rent or mortgage in the past year.BMA chiefs also warned that only 15 per cent say they are sure they will stay in the UK and work for the NHS long term.Dr Chris Smith, chair of BMA’s Scottish Junior Doctors Committee, has demanded a meeting with Scottish health secretary Humza Yousaf to thrash out a better pay rise for young medics.He said: “These figures should be extremely worrying for all those who rely on our NHS and it is clear that junior doctors, which make up a large and crucial part of the workforce in Scotland, have simply had enough.“Years of below inflation pay ‘uplifts’ coupled with rising costs of living have left junior doctors feeling under appreciated, undervalued and demoralised.

In real terms 23.5 per cent of our pay has been cut since 2008.“Many junior doctors already work around the clock and being forced to take on a second job or additional shifts will only further increase the risk of burnout and exhaustion – leading to safety concerns not only for them but for their patients too.”Smith, a junior doctor in Edinburgh in just his second year out of university, continued: “Junior doctors are the first people you see in A & E, the person looking