GMB’s Dr Hilary Jones Backs Striking Junior Doctors, Warns NHS Risks ‘Falling Off A Cliff’

Good Morning Britain commentator Doctor Hilary Jones said that striking junior doctors have “real grievances” and warned that failing to “reward our healthcare professionals” will push the National Health Service (NHS) to the brink.

In a segment on ITV’s flagship morning show, host Suzanna Reid asked whether the Jones supported the junior doctors, who are undertaking a six-day strike action over pay. Junior doctors in the first year of work-based training earn about £14 an hour, according to the British Medical Association (BMA).

“Junior doctors have a real grievance,” Jones said. “A real grievance. Their pay has been eroded considerably in recent years and what they’re asking for, in their first year after being postgraduate doctors and qualifying, what they’re asking for is £20 an hour.”

Rationalising the demand of the doctors Jones continued: “Now you ask yourself how many people would be willing to work for £20 per hour with responsibility of people’s lives, with the cost of ongoing exams, ongoing mandatory membership of Royal Colleges, of General Medical Council and those costs are going up all the time whilst their wages are falling?”

“They work longer hours than most people,” he said. “Their most contracts are 48 hours compared to most people’s 40 hours. That needs to be factored into their pay per hour. So they have a real grievance. And what really worries me is that so many are thinking I’ve had enough. I’m going to Australia, I’m going to Canada, I’m not staying here. Our staffing levels are going to get worse and worse.”

Host Reid added that if people were willing to pay tradespeople more than the current junior doctor hourly rate for plumbing or electrical issues in their home, how much more should be paid to those who save lives. She protested that many of the junior doctors cannot afford rent in the city centre where their workplace is.

“We are at risk of getting the NHS we deserve in our society,” Jones said. “If we don’t reward our healthcare professionals, they simply won’t be there for us in the near future and first class urgent medical care is falling off a cliff right now. I see it across the board, I’m afraid.”