Why did doctors reject Wes Streeting’s offer? It still fails to treat us with respect |
Resident doctors in England have voted overwhelmingly to go ahead with this week’s planned strike, because the government’s latest offer fails to address the medical jobs crisis and does nothing to stem the exodus of medics from this country.
Despite the government spin, this offer will not lead to more doctors in our NHS. It makes a start, but the proposed increase of specialty training posts over the next three years, from the 1,000 extra announced in the 10-year health plan to 4,000, simply repurposes “locally employed doctors”, rather than increasing capacity. It will not mean more doctors on the shop floor of our A&E departments – it’s just shuffling the deck chairs on a sinking ship.
This year it is estimated that nearly 40,000 doctors will apply for about 10,000 specialty training places. These are doctors who have completed years........