Thread by @RNAppleby

I am a NHS consultant. I am financially comfortable, in a job I love, so why am I striking tomorrow?

Answer: Because the next generation will not be able to live off what I do today. The juniors that will become these consultants know this and are leaving already.

Why? 🧵 👇

I qualified from med school 18 years ago, but if I qualified today, I would have 3x more debt (>£100k) at a higher interest rate and during my junior doctor career (at least 8 years, for me it was 13!) I would earn 30-40% less under the current contracts 2/n

I would not have reached financial security by consultancy, I would not be home owner. I would be starting a consultant job earning 20% less than I did a decade before. Despite having reached ‘the top’ I would struggling to cover my debt, childcare and housing. 3/n

The current junior doctors know this, they don’t see a future for them, they’re leaving. The gaps are everywhere already, every day we struggle to keep out services safe with the minimum number of doctors, it just gets worse. Full effect of this will not seen until 5 years 4/n

Why don’t you earn extra money doing private care? I don’t, its a personal choice, I prefer to put all my energy into the NHS. The next generation should have this choice as well. 5/n

Expecting your workforce to take second jobs to make ends meet is unethical if your are an Uber driver, it’s frankly insane for NHS senior leaders. 6/n

So your reasons are entirely altruistic? No, I have a vested self interest in preserving the job I love, within the greatest healthcare system in the world. It is facing an existential threat without consultants, who are todays junior doctors. 7/n

We have to act now to stop the rot. Not all the problems can be solved with pay rises, but NHS workforce shortage will never improve if todays junior doctors can’t envisage financial security, even when the’ve reached the pinnacle of their career. 8/n

I will sleep well tonight, knowing my patients will be safe tomorrow, between the consultants on call and not striking, there’ll be more consultants working than a weekend, and my junior doctors are excellent, they really do deserve more, now and in the future. end/n