NHS consultants in Kent begin 48-hour walk amidst inflation

Patients expect to face severe disruption despite consultants receiving a 6% pay rise offer from the government.

Transcript

00:00 Senior doctors outside Canterbury's hospital demanding a pay rise in line with inflation.

00:11 They say they've experienced a 35% pay cut in the last 14 years.

00:17 NHS consultants across the country have walked out today and will tomorrow too, bringing

00:23 almost all routine care to a standstill.

00:26 Doctors have been warned to expect disruption.

00:30 This is to protect the NHS. We need to retain the doctors so that we have our NHS in the

00:35 future. We want the government just to talk to the BMA. Please come to the table. We can

00:41 sort this out and then you will not have any of this happening. There will be no cancellations

00:47 and people will get what they need from our NHS.

00:50 But while salaries may not be in line with inflation, NHS senior doctors nationally are

00:55 earning more than other countries.

00:58 According to data from last year, England's senior doctors were earning an average of

01:02 around £120,000 a year.

01:06 This might be lower than the likes of Korea and Ireland, but it's still higher than countries

01:10 like New Zealand, France and Portugal.

01:14 People train in medicine in the UK, brilliant standards of medicine, excellent training,

01:19 but they're looking at the pay, they're looking at their debt. When you come out of medical

01:23 school you're looking at £100,000 worth of debt. I love the NHS and I'm grateful to be

01:29 able to work in the NHS and provide a service that hopefully people appreciate. I don't

01:33 want to go anywhere else. I want to stay here.

01:36 We hope this will end here and the government will come to the table to discuss and we will

01:43 sort it out as soon as possible. We don't want the strike. We want to work there. We

01:48 want to look after patients.

01:50 The Secretary for Health and Social Care, Steve Barclay, said "I'm concerned and disappointed

01:55 that the BMA has gone ahead with this industrial action, which will continue to affect patients

02:01 and hamper efforts to cut NHS waiting lists."

02:04 The government has given them a 6% pay rise, which means on average NHS earnings for consultants

02:10 are at around £134,000.

02:14 Steve Barclay says that this is their final offer and urges BMA to call an end to strikes.

02:20 Now this isn't the final picket line we're going to be seeing. There's going to be a

02:24 two day walkout in September and then a three day walkout in October and those here today

02:29 say they will not stop until their demands are met.

02:33 Sophia Akin for KMTV in Canterbury.